


God May be Dead, but I'm not

by Ishouldbestudying7



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Emma's a medium now, Ghost AU kinda, Kinda, She never made it to Clivesdale, and no they can't swim off the island don't try to apply logic to this, character development maybe, it's not super shippy but Emma misses Paul a lot, not a lot of swearing but it's emma she deserves to swear, not super violent i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-01-05 20:45:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18373766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ishouldbestudying7/pseuds/Ishouldbestudying7
Summary: Emma Perkins has managed to escape the clutches of the Infected, but with the bridge to the mainland malfunctioning, the virus and Emma are trapped in Hatchetfield until further notice. But Emma's determined to survive, even if it means fighting her way through every last zombie. But when the ghosts of the Infected begin popping up everywhere and begging to be brought to rest, it's up to Emma to bring the poor souls some peace. And dammit, she's gonna do it.





	1. Into the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies! I'm back with some more angst for you! Hope you all enjoy this, it's been a little worm in my brain for a while! Please comment and leave some kudos!

There was nothing more peaceful than an abandoned and completely silent library during a musical apocalypse.

Emma just barely poked her head over the ledge of the window, checking to see if the streets were clear before sinking down to the floor. She had holed herself into the tower of Hachetfield’s library with her small pack of supplies after deciding that the most secluded part of the quietest building in town had to be a good place to hide away from singing zombies. Technically speaking, she wasn’t even supposed to know that this little hiding place existed, but as a tired community college student, the best places were the ones where she could come to be alone and away from the stress of her classes and her terribly paying job.

Too bad that now it wasn’t being used as a homework nook, but a survival shelter within the midst of the apocalypse.

Emma had been on the run within her own town for three days now. A malfunction in the drawbridge between Clivesdale and Hatchetfield had prevented PEIP’s forces from reaching the mainland, meaning that the infection was still snuggly settled in Hatchetfield, much to Emma’s dismay. When she closed her eyes, she could still see the blue-tinged faces of the former residents of Hatchetfield as they descended upon her, led by the shell of a man she had come to trust so much.

It was in honor of Paul’s memory that she had managed to fight her way out of their clutches tooth and nail, using the pieces of shrapnel that the medics of PEIP had pulled out of her thigh to stab and bash her way out of the doors, limping as fast as her bandaged leg would allow. She made it to an abandoned shop, where she collected a few days worth of supplies into a rugged hiking backpack she had found before she heard the approaching sound of a singing mob and had slid out the back door, hobbling towards the library and hopefully some silence.

But her supplies were running low, and she realized that her time in safety was running low as well.

Emma tugged on the sweatshirt that she had snagged and looked around her. A pillow from one of the plush armchairs in the reading lounge and a blanket from the children’s storytime circle made up her makeshift bed, which was pushed into one corner. In the other corner, her backpack with the last of her food rations, a notebook and a pen, a flashlight, a bowie knife two changes of clothes, a coat, a fire starting kit, a few flares and a first aid kit was propped up and open, waiting for her to make a decision.

And Emma knew what that decision had to be.

Out of a mix of paranoia and routine, Emma looked out of all four of the tower’s windows, one facing each cardinal direction. She could see a faint concentration of Infecteds loitering outside the theater, but other than that the coast was mostly clear. She looked for a few moments, inspecting for shadows in the alleyways she was planning to take on her supply run. The supermarket was too dangerous because of the constant drawl of off-keypop music, but it would be the easiest place to get supplies. Deciding that the risk wasn’t worth it, she reasoned that a more secluded and low-key place would be better, like one of the farms on the edge of town or the local farmer’s market or...a local coffee shop to which she still had keys.

Emma hadn’t seen movement in Beanie’s for days, which gave her the hope that it was abandoned. And luckily, the supply closet and the kitchen were right next to the back exit, which meant she could be in and out within minutes and she had a good escape plan in case she got cornered. She fretted over all the details for a few minutes and eventually decided that all scenarios were accounted for and planned. A smile played on her lips for a moment as she thought to herself,

_Man, Paul would be proud if he could see me now. Finally thinking of all the implications._

She stopped at the thought of Paul, of his slight smile as he would look at her and how soft his eyes had been when they had shared that moment in Hidgens’ bar. But luckily, she stopped herself before she began to think of him now, his wild eyes and his too bright smile, his voice jumping out of his throat as though he had been waiting to sing them his whole life. She swallowed and began to pack up her supplies, leaving her bed, a flare and a roll of bandages tucked in a corner should she return. It was definitely her best hiding spot, and therefore it would serve as her safe point in case things went downhill.

Which they probably would, but she didn’t have time to think about that.

She tugged on the pair of yoga pants she had pulled on instead of her work shorts and stood, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. Sliding her knife into her back pocket and grabbing the piece of helicopter blade she was using as a weapon, she removed the boards and the ridiculously heavy boxes of books she had been using to block the trapdoor to her hideout and began to quietly descend the stairs, stopping frequently along the way to listen for the sounds of shuffling feet or, God forbid, singing. She made it to the main floor of the library and pulled at her sneakers, ready to make a run for it if necessary. She creeped over to the side door of the library and stepped out into the alleyway, making sure to hug the wall in case someone came by. She edged towards the street and peaked out, sure that the coast was clear as she couldn't hear any footsteps or music.

The last thing she expected was to peak her head out and immediately make eye contact with a young woman her age who was walking right towards her.

Emma jumped back in surprise and ran down the alley, sure that the lady was following her.

“Son of a-”

Emma skidded to a halt at the end of the hallway and ducked behind a pile of cardboard boxes, gripping her knife so tightly her knuckles turned white. She waited a moment, but when she didn’t hear any footsteps after a few minutes, she decided to peak her head out and check if the coast was clear.

Which it wasn’t, considering that the same girl from earlier was standing over the cardboard boxes and staring down at Emma with a concerned look.

Emma yelled in shock and held her knife in front of her, poised to strike. She eyed the girl warily. The girl seemed unfazed, and after a moment of examining Emma, she spoke.

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

Emma was taken aback by the bluntness of the statement but refused to loosen her grip on the knife.

“Yeah, so what?”

The girl just looked amused and made no attempt to move forward, which prompted Emma to look closer as well. The girl looked about her age and was wearing a pink floral dress. However, her outfit was mostly hidden by a green GreenPeace apron. Her hair and makeup were slightly disheveled. But the strangest part was that she didn’t look quite...solid. It was almost as though the edges of her body faded into the air, and her sneaker-clad feet looked like they didn’t quite touch the ground. Emma didn’t have much time to contemplate this though, as she saw the girl take a step forward and begin to say something out of the corner of her eye.

And Emma did what any rational person would do in her situation and stabbed the girl right in her abdomen.

But much to Emma’s surprise, nothing happened. It was like she was stabbing the air. She stopped a moment and stabbed again, thinking that she missed. Still nothing. She looked into the girl’s eyes and the two made eye contact, and then Emma looked down at the knife and stabbed it forward repeatedly, watching it sink into the girl’s stomach repeatedly and still wielding no result.

“What the hell?”

The girl looked at Emma, slightly more annoyed now then usual but otherwise not fazed.

“Are you done yet? I’m trying to help you here.”

Emma looked up at the girl and then down at the knife, finally deciding to put it into her back pocket, although the continued to keep her hand on it just in case.

“Okay, you have three minutes to explain before I bolt the hell out of here.”

The girl smiled and shrugged.

“Your guess is as good as mine. One day I was fine, the next I was here and watching my body start singing and dancing without me, so I assume I’m dead.”

Emma snorted.

“Yeah, you got that right. Everyone in this whole town is dead, besides me. But I didn’t know there were...ghosts? Is that what this is? Are you a ghost?”

The girl thought for a second, then nodded.

“Yeah, I guess so. I mean, a ghost and a zombie can come from the same body, right?

Emma almost laughed. Of all the things the apocalypse could bring, this kind of a conversation was not one she was expecting. She was brought out of her mind by the Greenpeace girl putting her hands on Emma’s shoulders, or at least trying to with her hands phasing through Emma’s flesh. Emma returned her gaze to the girl as she spoke, trying to ignore the cold feeling the...ghost's hands left.

“Hey, you have to listen to me. I know this is weird, and I know you’re probably scared, but now you’re everyone’s last hope, so listen up.”

Emma furrowed her brow but straightened her posture, shaking out her shoulders from the cold as Miss Greenpeace took her hands away. The girl stood up straighter as well and continued.

“Okay, look. I don’t know how this all happened. Quite frankly I'm still reeling. All I know is that my best friend came home singing and when he made me breakfast in the morning, I choked on...something he put into it and then my body was stolen from me. When that...thing took over my body, I was left like this. As far as I know, it was the same for everyone who’s left. When some of them died, the passed on right away, but some of us, like me, were left behind. And from what I’ve gathered, those of us left are those of us with some unfinished goal. The only way to help us pass on is to help us finish that goal and then kill our bodies and the things inside of them.”

Emma shook her head a little bit, processing all of the new information the girl had imparted on her.

“Okay, what do you want me to do about it?”

The girl smiled and hovered her hand over Emma's arm reassuringly.

“All I wanted to do was save the planet. Make a difference. And now I get to. PEIP already took care of the zombie of my body, but I still have unfinished business. But not anymore. If I help you, I help the world, because you-Emma, was it? I heard the hoard talking about you-you are Hatchetfield's last hope. You’re the world’s last hope. Please, you have to survive. You have to destroy the meteor. Set us free. Help us pass. We’re all rooting for you, and we’re all over the city. We’re not a lot of help, but we’ll do what we can. Listen to the ghosts, try to help them, and they’ll help you. You can do it. We’re all behind you.”

Emma swallowed and looked up at the girls eye’s. The pressure she now felt was crushing. She was ready to decline. After all, she had to focus on surviving. And the meteor...that's what got Paul. And he wouldn’t want her to sacrifice herself like that.

But then again, she wouldn’t want to honor his sacrifice by just letting the infection eventually spread. He wouldn’t want her to stand by while the whole world was turned into the thing he hated.

Emma looked back up the Greenpeace girl and smiled, eyes alight with determination.

“Alright then. Fulfill your purpose. What do I have to do?”


	2. Cup of Roasted Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beanies will just never be pleasant to Emma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back! I hope you all like this story, and if you do, please please please leave a comment! I love hearing from you guys and I'd love to hear what you think! Happy reading!

Emma slinked through the alleyways of Hatchetfield, knife hidden in her palm as she pulled the straps of her backpack taught against her shoulders. She stuck to the shadows, once again pausing every few paces to listen for footsteps or a stray tune. She waited before ducking across streets into the safety of the next alleyway, careful to keep her footsteps light and her grip on her weapon tight. She was about a block from Beanies now, and she was determined to make it there alive.

The Greenpeace lady’s words followed Emma all throughout the streets. The ghosts of the infected were everywhere, but they were most likely to be found close to the area in which they died. They couldn’t touch anything or kill anything themselves, and they couldn’t move too far away from their 'set point' (which is why Miss Greenpeace couldn’t accompany Emma throughout the rest of their journey, as she explained).

And most of all, they all wanted to see their zombie selves dead, which is why each and every one of them was now rallying around Emma, the lone survivor and their only hope for peace.

The only things tethering them to the mortal realm was an unfinished purpose and their zombies. PEIP had taken care of most of the civilian zombies on their clearance of town, meaning that all that was left were the purposes. Help the ghost complete their purpose and kill the thing inside of their body, and the ghost would be set free.

She had witnessed firsthand what a ghost passing was like when she saw Miss Greenpeace fade peacefully into nothing as soon as she sent Emma on her way.

Emma shook the thought of the Greenpeace lady from her mind as she jumped across another street. First things first; she had to get enough supplies to last her until she could come up with a good plan. Then she would worry about the spirits of her former friends. And even though she was still skeptical of the whole ‘ghost’ thing (which she really shouldn’t be, considering that she was in the middle of fighting for her life in the middle of a _musical_ apocalypse, of all things), she couldn’t help but hope.

Maybe, just maybe, she would get to see Paul again. The real Paul. _Her_ Paul.

God, she missed him.

Emma pulled herself out of her reminiscing as she clung to the side of the old hardware store across from Beanies’ back door. She listened for movement inside of the coffee place, trying to block out her most recent memories of the place. In her mind’s eye, she could hear the sickeningly upbeat tune that her infected coworkers had forced her into singing before the hive’s motive was revealed. She could still hear the sounds of choking bodies hitting the floor only to have their voices added to the hive’s harmony. Forcing herself out of her memories, she reminded herself to be vigilant. The last thing she would want is to be taken by surprise by the loudest God damn zombies in the world.

After retrieving her keys and determining the coast was clear, Emma crept to the back door of her former job. Leaning on the handle as to not make too much noise, she inserted the key as quietly as she could and pushed the door open slowly, thankful that she had complained about the creaking to Nora in order to get it fixed a few months prior. She took one step through the door and paused, listening for movement from all angles.

_God, if I’m literally surrounded by invulnerable ghosts, why can’t I get some spiritual backup?_

“What the hell are you doing?”

“FU-”

Emma’s yell came out as a sharp whisper as she began to lose her balance. Gripping to the door handle like a lifeline, Emma glared up at Zoey and Nora half out of fear and half out of anger. Standing quickly she pulled out her knife and stood her ground, staring them both in the eyes. When the only reaction this granted was an eye roll from Nora and an arm crossing from Zoey, Emma decided to focus away from their faces and more on the details of their bodies.

Sure enough, both of their outlines faded into the air and Emma could just barely make out the edge of the serving counter through their aprons.

Emma visibly relaxed and rolled out her shoulders for a moment before pushing open the back door the rest of the way and stepping inside, rounding off to direct her anger at being spooked on the two ghosts of her coworkers.

“ _Jesus_ , you two! Don’t you-”

“Emma, _shut up_! Do you want them to hear you?”

Emma shut her mouth at Nora’s words, watching as the two ladies exchanged looks. Nora looked back at Emma and ushered her over to the corner of the entrance, away from the view of the windows. Once Emma looked ready to listen, Nora began to explain.

“Listen, Emma. As much as I hate to admit it, you surprised me. Out of all the people in Hatchetfield who I would have thought would survive the apocalypse, you were NOT one of them.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Listen. As it stands, as crappy of a barista as you were, you’re apparently really good at surviving. So now it’s our job to help save the world by helping you on your way.”

Emma looked from Nora to Zoey as they stared at her. Given that neither of them would so much as bat an eye when she was backed up with customers while struggling through her college work, their offer to help her (however forced it may seem) came as a surprise.

But she was desperate, so she shrugged.

“Alright.”

Zoey and Nora smiled.

“Alright. Follow us.”

Nora and Zoey made their way over to the small kitchen area where they would make the pastries for the day. Instead of opening the gate into the area like Emma, however, the two of them just walked right through the solid wood, leaving Emma to blink in surprise before shrugging it off.

_Whatever, that’s not the weirdest thing I’ve seen this week._

She pushed the gate open and walked over to where Nora and Zoey were pointing; a case of pastries. They had to be a few days old at least, which made them even worse than usual.

But to Emma and her slowly growing hunger, they would do just fine.

She reached into the case and began to pick out a few of their ‘famous’ donuts before stopping abruptly at the absolute chill that was Zoey attempting to grab her arm but falling right through.

Shivering, Emma dropped the donut and glared up at Zoey, who was looking down at her with a mix of relief and annoyance.

“Don’t eat those. When my body was...infected, the coffee wasn’t the only thing it poisoned.”

Emma looked from Zoey to the donut, and when the realization sunk in, Emma had to admit that she could see the blue tint in the icing of the donut. And now that Zoey mentioned it, the muffins looked a little discolored too…

Trying not to vomit, Emma looked up at Zoey and Nora in disgust, and she could swear that the two of them looked apologetic.

“Like I said, it’s not the only thing. That’s why we're here. When our bodies got taken over, we could see and feel what they were doing, at least for the first few hours. Then the connection with the hive grew, leaving the humanity to weaken. But don’t worry. We’re here to help you now, so you can kill them before this happens to anyone else. Here, these croissants are safe…”

So Emma began shoving stale pastries, snacks from the breakroom, fruit from the bowl on the counter and bottles of liquids from the cooler into her bag while either Zoey or Nora pointed out what had been poisoned and what was safe. Emma had to admit, it felt kinda nice to be working as a team like this. Too bad it had taken the end of the world to bring it about.  

While Emma and Zoey were rummaging through the break room and Nora looked for helpful tools in the supply closet, Emma was stopped in her search by the cold feeling of Zoey’s hand on her shoulder. Thinking that the banana she had just picked up had somehow been poisoned without breaking its peel, she turned to Zoey in question.

She almost dropped the banana when she saw how remorseful Zoey’s eyes looked.

Zoey looked down for a second, then back up at Emma with a kind of determination in her eyes. Softening her expression a little bit at Emma’s confusion, she spoke.

“Hey, listen. I know that this is a bad time, and I know that you’re really confused and scared right now, so this is probably the last thing you care about but...I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry for how I treated you when I was still me and I’m even more sorry for how I acted when I was infected. I never meant for anyone to get hurt, you were just annoying as hell and I just needed a job and I _really_ didn’t like you that much and your car is crap and I-”

Zoey stopped when she saw the unimpressed look on Emma’s face. Remembering her point, she continued, softer now.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry. You deserved better. And now you’re here, in the middle of a battle you didn’t ask for. But despite how I acted in life, I’m rooting for you. I really hope you get the hell out of Hatchetfield alive.”

Emma smiled, and Zoey smiled back. For a moment, all was peaceful as an understanding formed between the two.

But that moment was broken by the sound of singing from outside the front window.

Zoey and Emma froze and slowly looked at each other, and then over to Nora as she jumped through the wall next to them, eyes just as wide. The three held their breaths (or, at least Emma did, since Nora and Zoey didn’t need to breathe anymore) as the sound of singing grew louder as the Infecteds (two of them, from the sounds of two part harmony) grew closer to the front of the shop window. Emma crouched low, pack ready and knife in hand as Zoey and Nora followed suit. Emma was ready to make a break for it if the zombies confronted her, but luckily it sounded as though they had moved on.

It didn’t take long for all of Emma’s hopes to be shattered with the tinkling of the storefront bell.

Zoey and Nora looked at each other, and then both walked over to the wall leading into the shop and stuck their heads through it in order to get a better look at the enemy. With fear coursing through her veins, Emma didn’t have time to think about how ridiculous they looked.

Zoey and Nora quickly pulled their heads back into the wall and looked at Emma in horror.

“It’s us.”

Emma’s eyes widened, then, after a moment of consideration, narrowed in determination. Zoey and Nora both looked at her questioningly. Nora tilted her head and whispered,

“What are you gonna do?”

Emma rolled out her shoulders, pulled up her sleeves and grinned.

“I’m gonna set you free.”

Nora and Zoey didn’t even have time to process Emma’s stupid plan before she grabbed the automatic coffee maker from the breakroom and switched open her knife, waiting at the door before she heard the zombie’s footsteps approach the door she was behind.

_This is for you, Zoey. I guess you didn’t suck that much._

Emma thrust open the door, taking Zoey’s zombie by surprise as she jumped up and smashed the coffee pot over her head with as much force as she could muster, destroying the zombie’s chance of uttering a single note before she hit the ground, blue blood oozing and staining the military uniform she had been wearing during the helicopter crash.

_This is for you, Nora. I hope you finally get to find some rest._

Nora’s zombie-still dressed in her work clothes-didn’t even have enough time to drop the gun she was holding before Emma stabbed her through the heart, an azure stain blossoming on her white blouse.

_And this is for you, Paul._

Emma picked up Nora’s gun and fired the last two shots through the brains of the two zombies, ending their connection to the hive and their half-lives forever.

Emma kicked the two bodies on her way back to the breakroom to retrieve her bag. She knew it was only a manner of time before the rest of the hive realized something was wrong and came looking for them. Walking through the gate, she made a point to avoid eye contact with either of the ghosts until she had wiped off her blade with the old cleaning towel, grabbed a better knife from the kitchen and shoved it into her bag. All ready to go with pack in place, Emma stood and faced her former coworkers. Both Zoey and Nora held a new kind of respect for Emma in their eyes, one which Emma had never thought she would see.

And to be honest, it made her uncomfortable.

Nora was the first to break the silence.

“Listen, Emma…”

Words seemed to fail her when she wasn’t telling Emma to move her ass.

“Thank you.”

Zoey finished for her, and Nora nodded. Coming back to her senses, Nora said,

“You’re not gonna survive long out there unless you get some better weapons. But you need to get them soon because the hoard is onto you know. If I were you, I’d head to the school. There has to be something there.”

Emma thought for a second, then nodded. The school was only a few minutes away and she could cut through the woods when she ran out of alleys, and she was sure there had to be something she could use as a heavy grade melee weapon in some closet or another…

Emma turned to leave when she felt a cold hand swipe at her arm. She turned to see Zoey pull her hand back and square her shoulders, giving Emma a small smile, the first genuine one Emma had seen from her in a while.

“You stay safe out there, okay? You’ve got the world riding on your shoulders.”

Emma looked them both in the eyes and smiled.

“Please. I spent my entire young adult life dealing with you two while serving up the worst coffee in Hatchetfield. I can survive anything.”

And with that, Emma turned out of the back door as Nora and Zoey’s forms faded, finally at peace while Emma started her journey to Hatchetfield High.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE COMMENT! 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed this update, hopefully I can get another one to you all soon!


	3. Going Back to Highschool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma is in need of weapons, but she's gonna need some help if she's gonna find them in a school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm gonna keep this short, enjoy the new chapter!

Emma crept through the underbrush of the school’s backwoods, checking behind every tree and watching her step carefully. At this point, she wouldn’t be surprised if the snap of a twig was melodic enough to call the whole hive to her. The sunseat had been shining brightly behind an excess of clouds when she left Beanies, but by the time she reached her destination, the sky had moved from purple to deep blue and the first stars were shining.

She smiled softly. She hoped Paul could see the stars too, wherever he was.  

Luckily she had remembered which section of woods bordered the school and found herself right outside of the janitor’s closet. She looked up and located the medium-sized window, which was cracked open to allow a soft breeze into the room whenever the janitors decided to hang out in there to rant about the staff. Luckily for Emma, the room was completely silent now.

_Well, let’s hope my climbing skills are still up to par._

Emma shifted her weight, wincing as her bad leg bent under her weight. Taking a deep breath, she leaped, arms grasping for the ledge of the window. She made contact and held on, almost letting out a hiss of pain when her bad leg hit the bricks with a dull thud. Ignoring the pain, Emma pulled herself up, good leg scrambling for traction.

Man, this was a lot harder than it had been in high school.

Once she had gotten her shoulders through the window it was significantly easier to slide the rest of her body in-she landed as quietly as she could on top of a spare filing cabinet that she knew for a fact was filled with booze and left her backpack on top of it, just off to the side of the window so it would be easy to grab from the outside. No need for unnecessary weight just yet.

She removed her trusty knife and a flare from her bag and moved to the edge of the filing cabinet. From there it was easy to climb down and land heavily in her good leg before swinging the other one around to meet it. And in order to make her eventual exit easier, Emma set up a chair on the side of the cabinet that she could use to hoist herself up later.

Crouching low, Emma put the flare in her pocket and palmed her knife, blade glinting in the moonlight.

Time to get to work.

Emma remembered the creaky floorboards by the door and adjusted her weight accordingly, creeping forward slowly and carefully.  Once she got to the door, she listened carefully, keeping her breathing deep and quiet. The school was a much larger building than Beanies, meaning that there was a greater possibility of being taken by surprise. And that meant that Emma needed more weapons if she was going to defend herself.

Thinking back to her high school days and what she'd overheard from the few high school students who had ever stepped foot into Beanies, it seemed unlikely to her that any teachers would be packing heat, so she could rule out finding any handguns in any desks. With firearms ruled out for now, Emma needed to get creative.

_Maybe I could use something from the shop class? No, I can't carry a saw blade around with me and they stopped stocking chainsaws in junior year. Maybe I could sharpen a table leg? No, there's no way I could do that without making too much noise. Maybe..._

Emma found herself contemplating everything from the dulled Home Ec. knives to chalk dust before she shook out her head.

 _Come on, Em. This is serious. Think about what you need_.

What she needed was something heavy duty that could deliver a lot of force in a short timespan, especially seeing how quickly the coffee pot had taken care of Zoey. And since she was unwilling to carry around a desk or a piano, she had to think smaller.

She tried to think back and remember the layout of the school, and subsequently where the greatest concentration of possible weapons.

_Huh. Out of all the places. The band room it is, then._

The band room was a little further down the hallway, and if Emma remembered correctly, that's where the color guard had stored their equipment. And if Emma wasn't mistaken, she had been at the football game where a girl caught her rifle wrong and broke her finger.

Yeah, that'll do just fine.

Emma listened for movement again and hearing none, she leaned on the door handle and stepped outside of the janitor's closet. Knife in hand, she stalked towards the band room, praying to whatever dead deity was listening that she wouldn't be ambushed when she got there.

Once she reached the door, she ducked low and peaked through the small window in the door from as many angles as she could. The room looked clear, but taking no chances, Emma made sure that her grip on the knife was secure before slowly opening the door. The room was as dark as the night outside but Emma didn't dare turn on a light. Instead, she opted to fumble her way through the room, stopping every few minutes to make sure she wasn't going to crash into an incredibly noisy instrument.

She made her way slowly but surely to the large cabinet in the corner, which she could vaguely see a painted outline of a flag on.

_Oh, I wonder where the guard equipment is? However shall I find it?_

Happy to find her sarcasm still intact after all the trauma she had gone through, Emma smirked to herself and set to work unlocking the cabinet. Squatting so that she was eye level with the lock, Emma pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and began to pick the lock, thankful that she had learned how in the more rebellious years of her teenhood. After a moment of quiet tinkering, she heard the telltale 'click’ of success and swung the door open only to be overwhelmed with several flag bags falling in her at once.

“Crap!”

Emma hissed as she caught as many bags as she could, shoving them upright and adjusting them to avoid any further incidents. Then she took a step back to look for her weapon of choice.

_Ahh, there it is._

Pulling a stray rifle from the back corner of the cupboard, Emma took a step back to examine her new weapon in the moonlight. It looked brand new, with crisp white paint and shining metal attachments.

Too bad it would probably be stained with blue blood later.

With her knife in one hand and the rifle in the other, Emma made her way back to the band room door.

Only to find it locked. Crap again.

Lacking the energy to pick another lock, Emma remembered that all of the music rooms in the school we're connected by a small room, which the music teachers used as an office and the students used as a smoking room. Checking the door on the band side, she found it luckily unlocked and soon found herself inside of the room, heading towards the choir room door as it was the closest room to the main hallway. Pushing the door open, she took a step inside the choir room…

Only to jump in surprise at the sight of two figures talking in hushed tones in the corner.

“Shi-”

The figures turned at Emma's exclamation and caught sight of her in full defense mode, knife in hand and rifle slung across her back. Her teeth were gritted and she looked ready to charge at any moment. The two figures looked from each other to Emma until realization caught the taller of the two.

“Emma! It's Emma, right? It's me, Bill! Paul's friend?”

Emma seemed to be taken aback for a moment and loosened up slightly, but only for a moment. She could barely see in the darkened room so she could not confirm his ghostly status.

At least, she couldn't until he walked right through a desk to get a step closer.

Emma's system flooded with relief and she visibly relaxed, shoulders drooping. She put a hand on her heart and walked over to where Bill and the other ghost (whom Emma could see was a ghost by now) were standing.

“Jesus, Bill. You about gave me a heart attack. Not the best of ways to go when you're the last survivor in Hatchetfield.”

Bill smiled and went to give her a friendly and apologetic clap on the back only to frown in disappointment as his hand went through her shoulder and Emma shivered from the resulting cold. After giving Bill a reassuring smile, Emma turned her attention to the teenage ghost that had been quietly watching the living and the dead interact.l

The girl was wearing a pink cardigan pulled over a white shirt with flowy black writing and a black skirt that matched well with her shoes. Her hair feel in loose curls over her shoulders and she was looking at Bill with the kind of desperation that any kid looks at their parent with in an unfamiliar situation.

And just like that, the dots connected.

“Hi! You're Alice, right?”

Alice looked shocked that Emma knew her name, but she nodded nonetheless at her father's tiny, encouraging nod.

“Yeah, that's me. And you are?”

“My name is Emma. It's nice to meet you, your father and Paul spoke very highly of you in the time we were in Hidgens’ bunker.”

Emma stuck her hand out to shake, not thinking about why that might be a bad idea. And apparently Alice didn't either, because when she stuck her own hand out, hers passed right through Emma's. The two girls looked down at their hands and then up at each other, causing a small chuckle to come out of Emma while Alice erupted into some bright giggles.

Bill smiled at the interaction, glad that Emma was here to help make his little girl smile again.

Once Alice has calmed down a little bit, Bill turned to Emma and eyed the knife in her hand warily.

“Well Emma, I was gonna ask if there's any way we can help you get out of this damn town alive but it looks like you've got things pretty well handled on your own."

Emma followed Bill's gaze down and chuckled, sheathing the weapon for a moment but remaining acutely aware of where it was on her body, just in case.

“Yeah, well, it hasn't been easy. I'm actually here to collect some better melee weapons, since the knife is a little too close range for me to feel completely comfortable. So if you guys have any ideas for some school-grade weapons, I'd love to hear them.”

Bill and Alice looked at each other for a moment, both lost in thought. After a moment Alice turned her head to Emma and asked,

“Have you tried the gym? I'm sure there's some bats or heavy equipment in the storage room.”

Emma mentally smacked herself for not thinking of it before.

_Way to get schooled by a teenager in basic weaponry, Em._

“That's a great idea, Alice. I should get a move on, then. The longer I stay in such a large building the more unsafe I feel.”

She was halfway turned out the door to find her way to the gym when she was stopped by Alice's cold hand on her arm. She turned and made eye contact with her and couldn't help but smile at the determination in the young girl's eyes.

“You really think we're gonna let you roam this school by yourself? Fat chance.”

Emma looked from Bill to Alice and smiled when Bill moved on Emma's other side, same determined look in his eyes.

“Damn right. We may be dead, but we're gonna do everything in our power to make sure that you leave here alive.”

Emma smiled. She had to admit, being flanked by two friendly ghosts did make her feel much safer. She looked them both in the eyes.

“Alright then. Let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this chapter, PLEASE COMMENT! It helps me get new chapters to you all sooner!


	4. Hideous Creatures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma knew that the school was too good to be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you're ready to do some reading, because this chapter is gonna be a long one. But, we get some more Alice and Bill, so I think its a win-win. Please enjoy, and leave a comment if you liked it!

Emma walked slowly and quietly, careful not to let the slap of her sneakers on the tile of the school hallway alert any Infecteds that might be lurking in the classrooms. The ghost beside her didn't have to worry about that, though. Alice's shoes made no noise when she walked, almost as if she wasn't there.

But to Emma, she was.

Emma hadn't really had time to come to terms with the fact that the ghosts of her people she used to know were now all rallying around her and the very slim chance that she would actually survive. She didn't know how she felt about her newfound ‘abilities’ yet, and she was sure that if she was not a little preoccupied with keeping herself alive long enough to get the hell off of the island, she would abandon the idea of her pot farm and be a travelling medium.

_Maybe I could bring some of those poor folks some peace._

Emma looked over at Alice, who had her hands in her pockets and was looking at the ground through her shoes. Bill had gone to scout the rest of the school for infecteds before he met them in the gym (which he had to get extensive directions from Alice and Emma to find, despite having visited the school more than enough times to find it himself). Meanwhile, Alice and Emma were going to look through some of the classrooms on the way to the gym for more improv weapons. Emma looked over to Alice and decided to strike up a conversation.

“So, how is it that you know the school so well? I thought your dad said you went to Clivesdale.”

Alice jumped a little at Emma’s casual whisper, thinking about an answer to Emma’s question. Her eyes darted back and forth for a second, almost as if she were scared. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of Alice fighting with herself, she let out a sigh.

“My girlfriend goes here, and sometimes I’d sneak on the bus to watch competitions and plays and stuff with her.”

Alice looked cautiously at Emma for her reaction. She usually wasn’t so quick to reveal so much about her and Deb to strangers, but she figured that nothing could hurt her now, not even the possible rejection of this living lady beside her. But to Alice’s great relief, Emma’s eyes lit up.

“Aww, that’s so cool! What’s your girlfriend’s name?”

Alice’s shoulders relaxed and she smiled.

“Deb. We’ve been dating for about a year and a half before…”

Alice looked back down at her shoes. Emma moved to put a hand on her shoulder, only to pull it back quickly since it felt like plunging her hand into cold mist. She opted instead for a reassuring smile once Alice looked back up at her.

“Hey, you’ll see her again. Once I get you guys out of here, that is. I promise.”

Alice smiled.

“Thanks. I really miss her.”

Emma smiled and looked into the window of the algebra classroom they were passing. The sky outside was pitch black, so she depended on the plaque on the wall outside the room and Alice’s say to determine what room it was. After a few more moments of silence, it was Alice’s turn to speak up.

“So, how did you meet my dad? I assume you met fairly recently?”

Emma snorted.

“Yeah. I only met your dad because Paul and I-"

“Oh, you know Uncle Paul?”

Emma stopped for a sec and looked at Alice.

“Uncle Paul?”

When Alice nodded, Emma allowed herself to laugh fondly for a second.

“That dork. Of course he’s your ‘Uncle’ Paul. Yeah, Paul and I met at the coffee shop where I worked before this all happened. We were running away from some of the aliens and we ran into your dad, who was hiding in some trash cans. We were hiding in a shelter together when your dad and paul went to find you.”

Alice inwardly flinched at the mention of the rescue attempt. She still felt guilty about that...that thing in her body luring her dad and Paul to the school so it could kill them. Thank God Paul had escaped though. But her dad...oh, her dad…

Emma noticed Alice’s inner turmoil and tried to change the subject. Luckily, they were passing the auditorium. Now there was a story. Getting Alice’s attention, Emma gestured towards the stage.

“Actually, Paul and I met before the apocalypse brought us together. I was in the production of Brigadoon that Paul saw when we were both in school, and he told me that that show is why he hated musicals in the first place.”

Emma thought back to that day. She had been a sophomore, sweating under the heat of the stage lights and her costume as she sang her heart out close to the curtains on stage left. She remembered the applause of the audience when the song was over, and in her mind’s eye she could almost see a young Paul in the audience, watching the dancing and singing on stage and vowing silently to himself never to do anything so stupid.

She smiled at the memory. God, if only they had actually meet back then….

Emma was brought out of her contemplation by Alice, who cleared her throat quietly while looking through her hair at Emma. Shaking her head softly, Emma smiled at the girl and continued walking, falling into step with the ghost. They walked in silence for a bit, until Emma decided that there was something that she just HAD to say before their time alone ran out.

“Do you have any idea how much your dad loves you?”

Alice looked up, taken aback. Emma continued regardless.

“I was there when you called. The fear in his eyes at the thought of losing you, the way he put aside his own fear to comfort you, the way he fought with Ted and demanded that he would save you, that he would charge through the whole hoard to get to you...I see that look in your eyes, it doesn’t matter if it was that thing or not, he thought it was YOU and he would charge to the ends of the earth for you, without question. He loves you more than I think he himself could express, so I’m just gonna do it for him, I guess.”

Alice looked at Emma, and Alice looked close to tears. Not knowing if ghosts could cry or not, Emma offered her a small smile and walked a bit ahead, giving Alice time to wipe her eyes and to let her words sink in. She strode down the hallway with Alice tagging close behind. She was about to turn the corner to a hallway when Alice stopped her via cold hand. Emma looked back at Alice, who was peering into a room and beckoning her over.

When Emma got there, Alice pointed to the door handle, asking Emma with her eyes to open it. Emma obliged, and when the door swung open, Alice let out a breath of relief.

“Oh, thank God it’s unlocked.”

Emma looked around and found herself back into the chemistry room. It still smelled like chemicals and old textbooks, and Emma could vaguely see the outline of the desk she used to take naps on in the corner. She looked over at Alice, who smiled at her.

“Now this is a room full of weapons.”

Emma had to agree with her. With all of the chemicals, burners, breakable glass and tools, this was a pretty good defense room. Deciding to keep the more dangerous weapons for later, Emma and Alice left the chem room and continued down to the gym.

\------------------

“No, I don’t think I can spike a volleyball into an alien zombie’s face every time I walk downtown.”

Bill’s face fell in disappointment as Emma rejected his idea. The three of them had been searching for weapons in the gym’s supply closet for a few minutes, and so far Emma had only deemed a simple wooden baseball bat acceptable as a lightweight and practical weapon. Emma and Bill were doing a thorough search towards the front of the closet while Alice searched the back, walking through track hurdles and nets that Emma would otherwise have to crawl over.

Emma would be lying if she said she wasn’t grateful for their help.

Emma and Bill had been whisper-arguing over the practicality of a track baton when they heard Alice shout from the back of the closet.

“Emma! I found something!”

Emma and Bill looked at each other and started heading over to Alice, Emma making sure to make a nice and quick escape route as she went in case they got ambushed. When they finally reached her, they found her gesturing to a rack of bows and a quiver of arrows for each with a proud smile.

“I’d say these might come in handy, wouldn’t you?”

Before Bill could turn into the responsible parent and begin worrying about safety, Emma had taken out her knife and sliced open the locked wire that kept all the bows on their rack. Selecting a nice green one, Emma pulled it back a few times to make sure it was easy for her. Deeming it worthy, she took as many arrows as she could carry in one hand and put them next the her rifle and bat. Taking some rope from the volleyball nets, she tied her weapons together, tightly enough so they wouldn’t fall out but loosely enough so that she would be able to pull them off at a moment’s notice. She took the bow in her hand and made her way out of the closet, satisfied and with two ghosts on her heels. After all, these were only temporary weapons until she could find some more heavy-duty artillery.

Walking out of the closet and into the slightly brighter gym, Emma turned to Bill and Alice.

“Hey, thank you both so much. Without your help, I don’t think there’s any way I could-”

“Emmmmaaaa…”

The sound of singing caused Emma’s blood to freeze in her veins. Alice and Bill looked at each other in panic. The three of them stared at the front doors to the gym as it became filled with the silhouettes of singing aliens, all coursing Emma’s name like a mantra.

Shit.

The hoard moved closer and began to speak in unison in rhythmic intervals while Emma backed away slowly, eyes watching their every move and scanning every exit.

“We have been looking for you, Emma. For too long you have evaded us, fought us. But no more. The Hive wants you, Emma. And if you will not join, you will die. Just like your friends. Just. Like. Paul.”

Emma’s knuckles were white on the bow and she could feel the cold sweat on her brow. Bill moved in front of her and Alice, putting himself futility in between them and harm. Swallowing his fear, he addressed them.

“You stay away from them, you hear me? You stay away from my daughter and you stay away from Emma.”

The hive continued to move forward, not acknowledging Bill or Alice, who had moved to stand beside her father to protect Emma. And just like that, it hit her.

The aliens can’t see the ghosts.

_Well that’s just great. My last line of defense isn’t even visible to the enemy._

But Emma knew that she herself was her only chance at fighting back. She looked up at the slowly advancing hoard, still calling her name. She could make out a few of the figures, like a man in a trench coat that she recognized from Beanies, a girl in a flower dress, some of General MacNamara’s soldiers and right in the front, Bill and Alice themselves. And in the back, a lanky shadow that looked like…

Emma didn’t even give herself time to consider who that shadow was before she saw the hoard jerk forward with arms outstretched. Without thinking, she slung an arrow off of her back, knocked it and sunk it right into the heart of Bill’s zombie before taking off like a shot for the gym’s back doors. She just barely heard Bill’s body hit the floor before she could hear the pounding of footsteps after her and picked up the pace, slinging more arrows off of her back in preparation.

Emma sprinted through the labyrinth of halls in Hatchetfield High, shooting an arrow behind her and waiting for the thud of a body hitting the floor any time she heard a pair of footsteps get too close. However, Emma’s stamina wouldn’t last forever, and the footsteps got closer and closer and she kept running out of arrows, so Emma eventually opted to throw the bow itself behind her and to keep running even after she heard the thuds of one or two bodies tripping on her improvised trap. She sling the bat over her head next, hoping and praying to the God that the alien zombies would never get close enough for her to use it.

Too bad God was dead.

The first zombie that reached her was the girl in the floral dress. She dived for Emma’s ankle, succeeding in bringing her down when she attempted to turn into a side hallway. Emma bashed her over the head enough to make sure she was dead, splintering the bat in the process. Realizing that she had already wasted enough time, she got up and kept sprinting away from the sound of the hive’s growing footsteps.

It was no wonder that she almost had a heart attack when Alice appeared next to her, footsteps silent and wind not blowing her hair as she ran. Emma had swung the rifle through Alice’s torso in panic before she realized that it was the good ghost version and not the scary zombie version before running again with Alice at her side.

“Sorry for scaring you, but I’m here to help. Dad’s trying to cut them off before they get to you. You’ve already killed most of them, though. There’s only a few left.”

Emma didn’t have time to celebrate the news before she was cut off by a man in a coat, whom Emma promptly bashed with the rifle until his knees buckled and whom she continued to beat until he was dead, being incredibly careful to keep her mouth shut so none of their blue blood would accidentally get into her mouth. She did NOT come this far to be infected _accidentally._

Emma ran down hallway after hallway, looking for a way out that wasn’t blocked or barricaded but with little success. She was about to turn to Alice for help when she was tackled to the ground…

By none other than Alice herself.

Alice’s zombie towered over Emma, who had fallen hard onto her butt. Never one to be backed into a corner, Emma swung wildly until her bat made contact again and again, ignoring the melodic cries that came out of the zombie’s mouth. After delivering a good hit to the zombie’s ribs, however, Emma heard another crack as both the zombie’s ribs and her rifle snapped simultaneously.

Crapcrapcrapcraprapcrapcra-

Emma backed away as quickly as she could while the Zombie took a second to assess the damage done. Shaking the injury off like it was nothing, Alice’s zombie smiled wickedly and began to advance on Emma.

“We have waited a long time for this, Emma Perkins. You will love the Hive.”

“Step away from the barista, bitch.”

Alice’s ghost stepped in between Emma and her body, shoulders squared and a fire in her eyes. Emma’s eyes pleaded with Alice to step away, fully aware that only some cold air with a consciousness stood between her and death. Preparing for the worst, Emma closed her eyes as she saw Alice’s body lunge towards her, awaiting an impact and preparing to fight until every last bit of blood was drained from her body.

But that moment never came.

Emma opened her eyes and saw Alice facing off against her body, but something didn’t look right. Instead of Alice’s body reaching right through Alice like mist, the alien zombie seemed to be pushing against a barrier, punching and shoving a seemingly unmovable force.

And that force was Alice herself.

Her hair was blowing despite their being no wind and Emma could see a light shining between them that seemed to be emanating from within Alice. Emma had no clue what was going on, but Emma did know one thing.

Alice was saving her ass and she was still on the floor.

Scrambling to her feet, she sprinted down the hallway and away from the Alice vs. Alice showdown until she found herself skidding to a halt in front of the chemistry room.

Sure, chemical warfare sounded good right about now.

Emma jumped inside the room and barricaded the door, taking a precious moment to catch her breath before she jumped back in shock again. But this time, it wasn’t aliens, but Bill, jumping through the door with an exhausted Alice in his arms.

“Jesus Christ Bill, what happened to her? Is she okay?”

“I’m not sure, but she still wants to help. What can we do?”

Alice stirred in Bill’s arms.

“Well,for starters, you can let me know what formulas I can make so I can blow these suckers out of the water.”

Alice’s eyes opened and she patted Bill on the chest to alert him to put her down. Reluctantly, Bill set her on her feet.

“Do we have any hydrochloric acid?”

Emma and Alice raced in tandem over to the chemical cabinet and began rifling through and grabbing any chemicals they could reach that they thought would do some damage, like phosphine, hydrochloric acid and hydrocyanic acid before opting to just grab whatever they could. They didn’t have a lot of tie to mix and prepare though, as Emma could hear the sounds of footsteps growing nearer and a low hum, like a battle cry rang throughout the halls. Emma looked from Alice to Bill and grabbed as many ials into her hands as she could carry.

And she waited.

Soon enough, the Infected realized what room she had holed herself up in. After enough banging and scratching as Emma thought her sanity could take, she saw the door slam open and she saw the same shadow from earlier, now at the front of the group and still hidden in the cover of the dark hallway. It spoke, in a familiarly terrifying voice that had made her blood run cold in her dreams for nights since.

“Join us, Emma. Join me.”

Emma threw the first vial.

And all hell broke loose.

Vial after vial flew in the air and vial after vial erupted in various and incredibly dangerous ways, some erupting into noxious gasses while others merely exploded into shard of glass. The Infected cried out in pain and shielded their eyes from the damage.

Which gave Emma the perfect opportunity to escape.

Taking a desk and throwing it against the emergency window, Emma slid out of the now gaping hole lined with broken glass, ignoring the new cuts on her leg because of her little stunt and sprinting over to the side of the building with her bag in it as quickly as she could. Jumping up and grabbing it quickly, she turned to go when she felt two cold hands on her shoulder.

Ah yes. She was forgetting something.

She turned to Bill and Alice, who stood just outside the building, staring expectantly. Smiling, Emma decided to break the silence quickly.

“Thank you both, for all you did for me. I never could have done it without you. Alice, I still don’t know what you did back there with your body, but thank you for whatever it was. And Bill, thanks for taking care of your daughter. And hey, at least you two will get to spend more time together! So thanks for everything. I’ll see you guys around."

Emma turned to slink once again through the forest before Bill stopped her one last time.

“Do you have any idea why he went to Beanies every day?”

Emma and Bill both knew who this was about without naming any names.

“No, I don’t”.

“It was for you. He always went so he could see you again.”

Emma internalized Bill’s words, nodded and then smiled.

“Thanks for letting me know. Goodbye you two. Good luck, wherever you are. Have fun with Deb...wherever you’re going. See ya later.”

And with that, Emma turned away from Hatchetfeild High for the last time, leaving the ghosts of father and daughter to fade away together, finally at peace with the world and each other.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow isn't chemical warfare fun? Anyway, it's time to leave the school and Alice and Bill, but don't worry, we're moving on. 
> 
> As per usual, PLEASE comment if you liked the new chapter, and I'll try to get 5 out to you all as soon as I can! Have a great day!


	5. To Have a Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma needs a rest. Badly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm so glad you all liked the last chapter, despite a few...unanswered questions. Don't worry, they'll be fully answered soon enough. But for now, I think it's time we give Miss Perkins some rest. Lord knows she needs it.

Emma had to admit, the apocalypse was _exhausting._

She hadn’t taken a moment to rest since she left her little library hideaway, and all of the near-death experiences had really taken a toll on her. She had grabbed some of the stale Beanies pastries and forced herself to eat them on her way out of the schoolyard and away from the zombie ambush, but it had done nothing to ward off her growing drowsiness. She knew that she wouldn’t last forever, but sleep sounded like too vulnerable of an activity for a woman in her current situation. She had to find somewhere safe to rest soon or the fatigue would get her long before the zombies do.

She stumbled through the thin woods parallel to Hatchetfield Park, scanning the streets and the park itself through the trees. Seeing no mindless ensemble members and hearing no stray notes, Emma decided to tread carefully across the park, hands taught on her backpack straps and eyes darting frantically. The school had really tipped her over the edge.

_Come on, Emma. Relax. Loosen up. Nothing’s gonna jump out at you in the middle of this empty park._

“Emma? What the hell are you doing here?”

“HOLY-”

Emma clapped a hand over her mouth and picked herself up off of the grass, where she had landed after she had jumped in fear and surprise. She looked-no, GLARED-up at the ghostly form of Ted, who was looking down at her in annoyance as if he hadn’t just given her a premature heart attack. At her full height she wasn’t even at half of his, but she stared him down with her hands on her hips.

“Jesus _Christ_ , Ted! Could you be any more of a jerk? I’m trying to survive the apocalypse here and you decide to jumpscare my ass? Jesus!”

Ted scoffed and bent down to her eye level, moving to pat the fuming Emma on the head condescendingly but only succeeding in sending a chill down her spine.

“Well, little Emma, some of us are trying to find any entertainment we can after we frikin DIED!”

Emma thought that Ted’s shout was loud enough to alert the meteor itself and she moved to shush him, but halfway to clamping a hand on his mouth she remembered that the Infected couldn’t hear the ghosts and relaxed a bit, ignoring Ted’s self-pitying anger.

Man, it was no wonder she had basically hated this guy on sight. Maybe it was the rat moustache.

“Well some of us are busy surviving, asshole.”

Ted didn’t have time to retort before Emma was scared by another, gruffer voice, this time from behind her and Ted.

“Would you two pups please stop your barking? We have some serious issues to deal with.”

Emma, very thoroughly spooked by this point, had whipped out her knife before the first two words had fully left the man’s mouth and she had turned to face him, slicing the knife through Ted’s midsection in the process while he just rolled his eyes at the man and Emma.

The man looked at the knife in Emma’s hand-which was now covered in frost-and shook his head, moving his hands up to his mouth as though to puff on a cigarette despite nothing being there to puff.

“Put that away, ma’am, but keep it handy. You don’t need it now but you might later.”

Emma eyed the man warily but obeyed his cryptic message. She recognized him vaguely, with his PEIP uniform and his ponytail, and suddenly it hit her.

“You’re General MacNamara, aren’t you?”

John MacNamara nodded, and memories of their last meeting came flooding back to Emma in a painful rush. The park, and the helicopter, and Paul...

“Oh God, I shot you in the arm, didn’t I? Goddammit, I’m sorry about that.”

The general waved her off, fingers still positioned as though he was smoking.

“Don’t worry about it ma’am, if I were in your position I would have done the same.”

His lips pursed as if he were taking a draw and he gestured Emma over to a bench so she could sit down, clearly noticing the sway of her body when she was supposed to be standing still. Ted had long since lost interest and had opted instead to walk through the same tree over and over, as though to illustrate his boredom.

The second Emma had placed her butt on the bench she could feel the fatigue from the past few days sweep through her body, and she rubbed at the bags under her eyes as she fought to give MacNamara her full attention. He had taken up position next to her, hand on his knee and eyes boring into her tired ones.

“What’s your name, ma’am?”

“Emma Perkins, sir.”

MacNamara’s eyes widened and he took another puff of his nonexistent cigarette.

“Ahh, so you’re Mr. Matthews’ passenger. His ‘friend’. Well, it’s an hinor to finally meet you, Miss Perkins. General John MacNamara of PEIP, at your service.”

Emma scoffed at the name of the special army unit, remembering all to well the logos on the wall of the hospital flashing before her eyes as she ran for her life. MacNamara saw this and nodded slowly.

“Ahh, I understand. The faith in our unit must have gone down since we failed to contain the infection. I’m terribly sorry about that Miss Perkins, you must understand how...powerful these things had gotten by the time they had gone after us. If only I could have done something to stop them in this state…”

Emma, only half awake, suddenly bolted upright and looked at him.

“Well, couldn’t you have? Alice did.”

General MacNamara's eyes narrowed and he looked at Emma skeptically, still puffing away on air.

“Who the hell is Alice and what did she do?”

Emma took a second to shake herself awake and recall what had happened at the school. She could remember what had happened fine, the only problem was that she couldn’t understand a damn part of it, so explaining it was going to be basically impossible.

“Alice was a friend’s daughter. She was with me at the school and she...she saved me. She faced off against her alien-zombie. It was like she had a shelid, some kind of...really bright force field. The zombie couldn’t get past it. And afterwards, she was exhausted for a little bit. But it worked. I got away. Do you know anything about it?”

General MacNamara looked confused and took a long, thoughtful drag of his fake cigarrette. He adjusted his hat as he shifted in his seat, pondering this new information. Ted had gotten bored with his laps through the various pieces of park flora and had taken to leaning across the back of the bench, pretending as though he wasn’t listening intently. Emma looked between the two of them, confused and wanting answers. Finally, the general spoke.

“Did Alice seem to have an ulterior motive? Something that could be gained in protecting you?”

Emma thought it over and shook her head. No, Alice wouldn’t have had some reason for keeping her alive. She had jumped in between the alien and Emma so suddenly and with such ferocity that there was no way she could have been thinking about what she could get out of Emma’s continued living. No, Emma was sure that she had acted completely on instinct. A protective instinct.

The general saw Emma’s expression and seemed to read her mind, as he nodded and pursed his lips.

“That’s what I thought. Pure intentions create pure actions…”

Emma waited for the general to continue, and he looked like he was about to, but he stopped himself.

“Well, even if my theory is correct, I don’t suppose I’m the man to explain it to you. I’m sure you know who would be, though. After all, he teaches biology with the same energy he uses to research the inner workings of the universe…”

MacNamara took another drag of air and watched the realization dawn on Emma’s tired face.

“Hidgens.”

"That's right. PEIP has been watching him for a while. He'll be able to help."

Emma didn't have time to question the general about why they were watching her professor before a voice interrupted her thoughts. 

“Hah! That old nutcase? Good luck even getting to his fortress before you’re swarmed.”

Emma-who had completely forgotten about Ted’s presence behind them- went to smack him on the face, only to stop herself short of slapping herself when her hand went right through Ted’s nose, which of course sent Ted into hysterics. The General shook his head and leaned towards Emma.

“You’ll figure this out soon enough, but let’s just say that between the two of us, that idiot would never have been able to do what Alice did. He’s to much of an asshole.”

Ted had stopped laughing now and even had the audacity to look hurt.

“Asshole? Me?”

Emma would have rolled her eyes if her eyelids weren’t already drooping past the acceptable level. 

“Ted, you literally wanted to leave me to die twice. I will call you whatever I like.”

Ted seemed lost for a response, so Emma took her chance and stood, stumbling on her feet a little bit from the toll the sudden movement had on her tired mind. The General noticed and stood as well, moving to put a steadying hand on Emma’s shoulder before deciding against it. Instead, he glared at Ted and waited for Emma to steady herself before addressing the one living woman left in Hatchetfield.

“Miss Perkins, as PEIP General, I find it imperative that you keep yourself in peak shape while you fight your way out of this little hellhole you call home. And therefore, you need to sleep. Is there anywhere close by that you can rest, at least somewhat safely?”

Emma rubbed some sleep from her eyes and felt her heart sink a little at at the thought of the nearest shelter.

“Yeah, I know a place. Just down the road.”

The General nodded and began pacing.

“Well, I think the next best course of action would be to send my available men to take watch outside of this shelter, so they could at the very least alert you to any invaders. From there we could figure out a course of action for the following days. Kapesh?”

Emma, too tired to argue, nodded. The General nodded for her to lead the way and she turned, headed back to a house that she had hoped she could avoid at all costs. But before she could leave the park, she heard one of the men call her name.

“Emma?”

She turned, ready to deal with whatever retort Ted might have called her to give. To her surprise, Ted was looking down at his feet in what seemed to be remorse.

“I’m sorry, Emma. I shouldn't have left you to die. And I definitely shouldn’t have done it that second time. I know I was an asshole. But it’s a little late to change it now, huh? You and Paul, Bill and...and Charlotte….I’m sorry, okay?”

He looked up at Emma, waiting for something, anything in response. That was as close to a heartfelt apology as he was going to get. To his relief, Emma gave a small nod and shot him some finger guns.

“Thanks for the apology, Ted. See you on the flip side.”

And at that, Emma and the General left the park, headed to the shelter and leaving Ted alone and content with his apology.

 

\----------

 

Emma had fished the spare key out of the ceramic flower pot on the porch and was in the process of fumbling with the lock on the back door when it hit her. She hadn’t set foot in this house in years.

Not since the funeral.

Pushing the door open, Emma nodded curtly to the two spirits of PEIP soldiers that she could see and stepped inside, immediately flooded with memories as the foyer of Jane’s house greeted her.

Oh God, Jane.

Even though Emma hardly ever got to see them, Emma could not have been more grateful that Jane’s family had left for vacation two days before the meteor accident. They had clearly been quarantined away from Hatchetfield, and although she knew that everyone would be bummed that their house ‘blew up’, she would much rather have them abandon their possessions than be turned into mindless zombie aliens.

She kept her bag on her she she traveled through the house, trying to remember which rooms were which as she scoured through the fridge. She took out two of her niece's juice boxes and an apple from the bowl on the table before realizing that it was foam. But only after about two bites.

_God, maybe I do need some sleep._

Sipping her second juice box, Emma made her way up the stairs to the bedrooms before being stopped dead in her tracks by a painful wave of memories that had manifested itself in the form of pictures on the wall. All the events that Emma had avoided were documented here, the baby showers, the birthday parties, the wedding…

And before she knew it, Emma found herself crying on the floor.

She hadn’t let herself take a moment to cry for several days, and the pictures of her long dead sister looking so goddamn _happy_ with her life put together was the last stone that broke the dam. Emma sat on the steps and sobbed as quietly as she could. Jane. Jane Jane Jane Jane Jane. It had been so long that Emma forgot what the name slipping off her tongue felt like. She had forgotten the good times, the sunburned smiles on the beach when they were little, the prom dresses when they were in school, meeting her fiance at Christmas. And worst of all, she remembered sitting by her casket-the one step in the life plan that came too early-with tears streaming down her cheeks and vowing to herself to make Jane proud, even if it killed her too. And before she knew it, her raspy breathing had turned into raspy whispers, addressed to the spirit who definitely wasn’t there.

“Are you proud, Jane? I’ve traded out a pot farm for a knife and the apocalypse. My professor tried to kill me and I am legally dead to the eyes of the world. I don’t have a boyfriend but at least I have Paul. Oh God, _had_ …”

The thought of Paul sent a whole new wave of tears down her face. Paul, who she had noticed since his first day wandering into Beanies on his scheduled lunch break. Paul, who she had stolen glances at when he wasn’t looking, unaware that he was doing the same. Paul, who she had poured her heart out to after some old booze in her professor's basement when she had kept her motives guarded for years. Paul, who she…

Who she loved.

Emma slammed her head back against the wall at the realization that she loved the goddamn idiot that had gotten himself into more of a mess than he could handle. He had been stability in her life, a constant even through the goddamn apocalypse. He was the one person in Hatchetfield who she had so desperately wanted to see alive at the end of it all, the one she would have loved to spend the rest of her life getting to know, no matter how short that time would be. 

Goddamn it, she should have told him earlier. 

She could have eventually introduced as her boyfriend. She could have introduced to her parents if they were still alive. She could have married him, goddamn it. She could have married him and seen his stupid dopey smile for the rest of her life. The future she would never have flashed before her eyes as she sobbed. Paul. Oh, Paul…

She remembered the way he had looked at her when they were sitting in the bunker. She remembered the fire in his eyes whenever he jumped in between her and danger. She remembered how concerned and scared he had looked when she was pulling herself along the ground after the crash. She remembered the determination in his eyes as he left her, fully weaponized and with a mission and wishing he had kissed her sooner. But worst of all, she remembered the moment her heart shattered as Paul began to _sing,_ and the wild, sinister happiness as he beckoned her to join him.

Emma wiped her eyes and lent her head against the wall, thinking of what General MacNamara had said to her once he was finished escorting her to her sister’s house. He had stopped her from going in before he asked her a simple question.

“Miss Perkins, Mr. Matthews was quite adamant about PEIP extending its aid to you as well as him via the helicopter. He said he hoped there could have been something more than friends between you. Did you feel the same?”

Emma had dismissed the question at the time, claiming that she was too tired. But now her answer slammed into her like a ton of bricks to the chest.

_Yes, God yes. I want there to be something more why didn’t I see it sooner. Paul, I miss you I love you I miss you I love you please please please please Paul…_

Chanting apologies and confessions like a mantra, Emma sniffed, wiped her eyes and made her way upstairs, too tired to worry about messing up her sister’s bed sheets as she collapsed onto the bed, finally sleeping into a fretful sleep full of wide eyes and missed opportunities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I do not go easy on the angst do I? Don't worry, it'll get maybe-a-little-bit-not-really-better-at-all when we get to the next chapter. 
> 
> As per usual, please comment! Let me know what you think and if you're excited for the next one!


	6. Ready to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma´s gonna need some professional help understanding this ghost crap. Maybe someone with a doctorate can help...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I´m so sorry for the late update, but it´s finals week over here, which means that chapters may be further apart now, but I promise we´re gonna finish this thing. Patience is a virtue that will pay off at the end of this fic, I promise. But for now, enjoy the new chapter with everyone´s favorite biology professor!

Emma sat at the counter of Jane´s kitchen, forcing herself to work her way through the scrambled eggs she had whipped up so she could avoid going hungry for the next part of her journey. 

After her breakdown the night before, Emma had fallen into a less than relaxing sleep (which was far too often filled with images of blue stains and strained riffs) before waking up only slightly after the sun because a crow's call outside the window had startled her. 

_ At least that's not music, _ she thought as the crow´s off tune caws floated through the air.

She had stumbled her way out of bed and over to the corner where she had kept her bag and pulled out an extra pair of clothes, determined to get herself ready for the next leg of her plan. 

Now, she sat at the kitchen counter, freshly showered and resupplied with first aid, snacks and miscellaneous helpful items. She had made sure to re-wrap her leg, the dull throbbing of which had become just another part of the daily concerns that plagued her waking hours. She had traded out the stolen t-shirt, sweatshirt and torn yoga pants for a sleek long-sleeve black shirt, matching leggings and a black windbreaker. 

_ Might as well look stealthy as I avoid the least subtle aliens in the universe. _

As she shoved the last bit of eggs into her mouth and took a sip of milk, she saw General MacNamara enter through the side wall, clearly ready to discuss Emma´s next plan of action. She didn't look up from her fresh, non-Beanies coffee as the general stood next to her and puffed his imaginary cigarette (do ghost cigarettes exist?) as he waited for Emma to look up. Eventually, after a long sip, Emma turned her eyes towards the ponytail wearing General. 

¨Miss Perkins, now that you are properly rested, I hope you are prepared to discuss your next plan of action. As you know, my men and I will not be able to accompany you, but we do hope that you have a plan. We gave our lives to contain this infection, and we just hope that our deaths were not in vain and that we were at least able to aid in the survival of at least one citizen of this damn rock.¨

Emma nodded and put her cup down, shifting in her seat to look at the general and lean on the table simultaneously with absolutely horrendous posture. 

She may be in the presence of a military ghost, but that doesn't mean she had to be uncomfortably formal.

¨I'm gonna go to Professor Hidgens´ house. It's basically a bunker, it´ll be a good place to regroup and get some heat to pack so I can actually have a chance of defending myself other than relying on stabbing my way off this freaking island.¨

MacNamara nodded and tried to pat Emma on the back as she stood up, but Emma was desensitized to the cold feeling of ghost contact at this point and slipped her bag on her back. MacNamara stood at attention.

¨Well, Godspeed Miss Perkins.¨

He saluted her and gave a curt nod.

¨You´re the best of all of us now.¨

Emma-not quite sure how to take the compliment and accompanying pressure-gave a small salute back that dissolved into awkward finger-guns. When the general didn´t react (Emma wasn't even sure he blinked), Emma turned on her good leg and made her way out of the back door, checking with the PEIP soldiers outside to make sure the coast was clear. Determining that no aliens were nearby, she stepped back out into the emptiness of Hatchetfield, headed towards the last place she remembered seeing everyone alive. 

\------------------

Emma looked around the trunk of the tree she was behind, assessing any danger that may be lurking around the front gate of Hidgens´ house. She had absolutely no idea what could be in there, but the payoff of the house was too good to pass up. Gripping her knife and gritting her teeth, she scurried up to the main gate and put her right ring finger on the keypad. The light next to the indicator turned green, but she still needed the next part of the entry code; the number pin. She put in the one that she remembered from before the apotheosis, but no dice. 

_ Crap. When did he even have time to change it on me? Come on Emma, think.  _

She tried his birthday, the date of which she remembered because he had given the class the day off. 12 29 58. Nothing. She tried the genetic properties of mitosis and meiosis. 1 2 1 2 1 4. Nada. She was growing increasingly aware of her vulnerability when it hit her. The one code that would be blatantly obvious in the midst of a zombie apocalypse but obscure enough to keep him safe from the riff-raff. 

Let's see, how many letters are in the name of that title?

She thought back to being tied up next to Ted that asshole in Hidgens´ basement as he began to lament about the musical he had spent his post-college years planning. And as shocked and scared as she had been, she still remembered a good part of the pitch. 

Workin´ Boys; A New Musical. 6 4 1 3 7.

She needed one more number, and coming up with nothing, she did the only thing she could think of. 

Please. 6. 

The gate swung open with a small creek, and Emma had to keep herself from whooping with joy. 

Trying her best to keep things quiet, she closed the gate but made sure that she could easily open it again if she got cornered. And she would have to change the pin to the door, so that Hidgens´ zombie wouldn´t have any chance of getting in, what with his cleared fingerprint and probable memory of the code.

_ Have to consider all the implications, after all.  _

Once on the other side of the gate, she went to the security control panel and changed the pin to

5 7 3 4 2 3.  _ Alien Zombies can kiss my ass.  _

¨Perfect”.

Satisfied that the gates were closed, Emma made her way steadily over to Hidgen´s back door, which she knew would be unlocked and her best chance of getting in undetected if anything was lurking in the shadows. She opened the door as quickly and quietly as possible, as to not give anything any warning of her approach and therefore no chance to ambush her. 

And she succeeded in catching the thing in the lab by surprise, as the ghost of Professor Henry Hidgens jumped about a foot in the air at the sound of the door accidentally knocking over a broom that had been propped up behind it.

¨SWEET STEPHEN SONDHEIM!¨

Hidgens´ surprise surprised Emma, whose reflexes too over as she whipped her knife out and pointed it forward in as good of a battle stance as she could manage cramped in between rows of beakers and test tubes. Hidgens whirled around and dramatically clutched his heart, ready to berate whomever dare disturb him in this state, but his entire body dropped in relief when he saw that it was his favorite student. 

¨Oh, Emma, thank GOD you´re here! I´m so glad to see that you weren't infected!¨

Emma had gone out of her battle stance the second she heard the professor actually speak and had fully relaxed once she saw his hand accidentally go through an unlit bunsen burner without moving it. She let her shoulders droop and her guard down, so relieved to see her professor looking almost the same as she usually did when she saw him and that for a millisecond her brain let her suspend her disbelief. Maybe she wasn't in the midst of the apocalypse, and maybe her kooky professor wasn´t actually dead and hadn't tried to get her killed. 

Too bad she was still holding a knife with blue blood stains on the handle. Kinda wrecked the mood a bit. 

Emma groaned in relief and put the knife away, relieved that she could have a moment of rest. Hidgens looked at her all-black outfit (a vast contrast to the Beanies uniform he had last seen her in), her bandaged leg, the knife she had just seen and the blue stains on her sneakers and wondered what the hell she had been through. The thing that got him most though was her eyes. Her brown eyes-which he had seen while heavy with sleep in his classroom or alight with excitement amongst all the dangerous chemicals in his lab-were now almost clouded over with fatigue and despair. There were bags under her eyes so large they looked like deflated parachutes and Hidgens could tell just from her posture that she hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep, wherever she had slept last. 

Poor girl. 

Hidgens walked over to Emma and made to put his arm around her shoulder to guide her to a more comfortable place than his little lab, but he stopped when he realized that the arm of her old biology professor going through her shoulders was probably the last thing Emma wanted after the hell she must have already walked through. So instead, he decided to just motion with his head towards the door, with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. And despite the fact that the last time Emma had been in the lab was when Hidgens drugged her and Ted, the aspect of merely sitting on a goddamn couch comfortably for the first time in what felt like forever, all while someone who might actually have a freaking clue what was happening helped her figure out a plan was just too good to ignore. 

So marched herself to the door, flung it open and made her way to the living room, where she dropped her bag at the base of a sofa and jumped onto it, shoes and all, pulling pillows around herself and snuggling down in a little woven blanket as Hidgens made his way over to sit on the ottoman facing her, a bemused smile on his face. 

“Why yes, of course you can abuse  _ my  _ furniture, Emma. My house is your house.”

Without opening her eyes, Emma retaliated,

“Shut up, Professor. Last time I was here you almost got me killed. I can do whatever I damn well please. You owe me.”

Henry couldn't argue with that. 

Emma, still not entirely satisfied with her berating of Hidgens for basically trying to kill her decided nonetheless that she needed Hidgens to help her. So, she satisfied herself with flipping him the bird underneath the blanket before propping herself into a sitting position, blanket wrapped tight around her body like it was her only form of protection as she stared into the semi-transparent form of her former professor. 

Hidgens didn't let on that he had seen Emma´s middle finger through the blanket (he knew that he deserved it anyway) and proceeded to examine the small cuts on Emma´s forehead from running through the underbrush and her wildly wavy hair from the unusually high Hatchetfield spring humidity. Emma-who was starting to wonder why Hidgens kept staring at her with a concerned frown in his eyes- decided to cough to diffuse the tension, which snapped the professor out of his moment of almost fatherly concern and back into reality. 

¨Well Emma, I must say I'm incredibly glad that you´ve made it this far. Especially after my...ah, moment of lost judgement. Which I deeply apologize for. I can even begin to try to rectify what my thought process was.¨

Emma scoffed. 

¨Maybe because there wasn't one at all¨

¨ _ Exactly _ , Emma.¨

Emma looked up at Hidgens. The fog of remorse that hid behind his all-too-familiar exclamation made her pause for a second as she came to a realization. She had never seen her professor look this...vulnerable. For a second his larger-than-life personality faltered and Emma could see how hard the reality of his situation was hitting him. It must be hard for a biology professor too realize that there was something after death, after the decay that came with the end of an organism's natural cycle.

Huh.

Emma pulled a hand out of her blanket and put it next to Hidgen´s leg as a sign of forgiveness, or at least understanding. Hidgens smiled at his favorite dau...student for a moment. Then he mentally shook himself off, stood and smiled down at her. 

“Well, now that the apologies are out of the way, would you like something to eat, my dear Emma? I would offer to make you something myself but….ah…”

Hidgens looked down at his hands, through which he could see the red of his rug. Emma got the message and stood, blanket still wrapped tight around her. 

“Do you still have that frozen pizza I brought you last week?”

\----------------------

Emma swung her legs back and forth underneath the granite of Hidgens’ countertop, happily digging into her third slice of oven pizza. Hidgens was facing away from her on the opposite side of the counter, trying his best to move a mug across the counter but to no avail. Every time his hand went through the ceramic surface of the mug he grew more frustrated, until Emma decided to distract him by getting the answers she felt she deserved. 

“So, what's it like being a ghost?”

“Goddamn frustrating, is what!”

Emma, taken slightly aback by the outburst, looked at the professor in question. Hidgens took a breath, centering himself. 

“I'm sorry, Emma, I didn't mean to be rude. You asked a valid question and I overreacted. It's just…not what I expected. As a biologist I am used to studying the cycle of physical decay and decomposition. Just to think that there is somewhere outside of the realm of natural understanding and logic...it just doesn't sit well with me. Not to mention that I´m bored out of my  _ mind _ because I can't move or do a damn thing!¨

He swiped through a cup for emphasis, then continued. 

¨It's so strange...I can feel anything, I'm aware of who I am and where I am but no one is aware of me...but the worst part by far was dying.¨

Emma put down the slice of pizza and moved the plate away from her. It was clear to her that this was the first time he was allowing himself to work through his own death out loud, and Emma was determined to give Hidgens her undivided attention, like any good student would. Hidgens took a breath (without the need to) and continued. 

¨I had realized the second they carried me away that I had made a mistake. I could hear you crying out behind me, and I thought that you would die and it would all be my fault and I had never felt more remorse. But when they actually killed me...when they physically destroyed my mortal body...I thought that was it. To be completely honest, I was expecting oblivion. Absolutely nothing, the end of my consciousness. I can still remember how it felt when my body finally gave up and crumbled under the pain. Such excruciating pain...and then it was over. And when I dared open my eyes again, I faced, not a void, but my own body, but this time as an outsider.¨

Emma´s eyes had gone wide and she had pulled the blanket tighter around her, entranced. Hidgens trudged on. 

¨I could still feel and understand what my body was doing and seeing for the first few hours, like a television constantly playing in the back of my mind. And dear Emma, I hope you could imagine my relief upon following my body towards where you had been tied up only to see that you had escaped, and my continued surprise to see that you survived! Clever girl.¨

Hidgens looked like he almost wanted to pull Emma into a hug, but he clearly thought better of it. He saw Emma´s expectant look and straightened the sleeves of his turtleneck, taking a moment to compose himself. 

¨Well, it hasn't been all bad. I have taken the opportunity to study some of the more...ghostly behaviors of a spirit in limbo, and as I understand it, Hatchetfield is now littered with more spirits of the deceased. So, I think it would be beneficial to your survival if we worked through some of this together, hm?¨

Emma nodded and stood, blanket still wrapped around her. And the warmth it provided kept her from feeling too cold as Hidgens hovered his hand over her shoulder like he used to, guiding her safely to his study.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hidgens acting like Emma´s dad gives me hope. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys liked this new chapter! I gotta say, the response towards the last chapter was pretty underwhelming, but I hope the presence of Hidgens may sway a few more people to share their reactions. 
> 
> Anyway, as always, PLEASE COMMENT! It means the world to me. 
> 
> Hope you all have great days, and I´ll see you in the next update!


	7. We Got Work to Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Hidgens figure some things out and finally make a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for your patience! The worst of my exams are finally over, which means I might be able to start posting fairly regularly again! So enjoy this chapter, and don´t worry, the good stuff is coming up really soon, so stay tuned!

¨So you’re saying that Alice used some kind of energy field to protect you from her zombie?¨

Emma nodded. She had just recounted the events at the school to Hidgens, who had begun to alternate from looking at Emma to going over his mental notes. Late afternoon was upon them and the sunbeams streaming through the window of Hidgens’ study went right through the professor’s chest. Emma was slouched in an armchair in the corner, watching Hidgens pace and wondering what Alice’s little stunt at the school actually implied. Hidgens looked completely lost in thought, tapping his chin as his brow furrowed.

¨Do you think she thought it out? Do you feel that she acted on impulse?¨

¨It was definitely impulse. She was in another hallway before I got cornered and she was there to help way to quickly for her to have planned any of it.¨

¨Ah.¨

Hidgens nodded, paced once more, and then came to a stop in front of Emma.

¨Well, I must say, this...phenomenon does go against the basic principles of, well...being a ghost.¨

Emma looked confused, so Hidgens decided to sit on his desk so he could better elaborate.

¨Okay, so as you know, being a ghost is its own state of being, just like being alive is. And as such, there are specific limitations on what ghosts can do. For example, we can't just touch something, pick anything up or just interact with the living world in general. And therefore, I honestly have no clue how I´m able to sit on this desk right now, but I think I´ll just let hit happen anyway.¨

Hidgens and Emma looked down at the desk together, then back up at each other and shrugged. Hidgens continued.

¨Regardless, there are rules we have to follow and things we can and can't do. We can't interact with objects, those damn zombies can't see or hear us, and we can't possess anything.”

“Wait, what? Possession?”

“Yes, my dear, possession. Trust me, I've tried it. When my body was still lurking around this building I tried everything to stop it from going further, until I eventually became desperate enough to jump back into my body. Now, looking back, I can't even begin to guess what I thought would happen. Maybe I thought my soul would...reattach, somehow, or that I would be able to force whatever was in my body _out_...but all I got was the most thoroughly disturbing experience of my entire life. God, it was awful! Nothing but musical static from all sides until I was forced back out of my own body...¨

Hidgens had almost curled in on himself now, and Emma reached out to keep him from continuing. He waved her off and shook himself off, dispelling the memory.

¨But it's in the past now. The point is, possession is not within our wheelhouse of abilities. On the other hand, what Alice did….¨

Emma leaned forward, interest peaking. Finally, some answers. Hidgens rolled up the sleeves of his turtleneck and hopped off the desk, resuming his pacing. Emma´s eyes followed him.

¨What Alice did is something I can only describe as a phenomenon. Not an impossible one, mind you, just incredibly rare. As you know, it is impossible for a ghost to really interact with the living world, at least consciously. It doesn't matter how much you concentrate, nothing will happen. However, if a ghost has a goal in mind, a pure goal that overtakes them, then there is no telling what could happen.¨

Hidgens stopped and looked directly into the slowly setting sun to collect his thoughts before spinning gracefully on his heel and continuing to pace in the other direction.

¨You said that Alice acted on impulse, and you say that there couldn't have been an ulterior motive, no feeling of moral superiority or the repaying of a favor. Just a pure goal; protecting you. And _that's_ where the power lies!¨

Hidgens had stopped in front of Emma and rested a ghostly finger on the tip of her nose, making Emma go cross-eyed and sending a shiver down her spine.

¨The only way a ghost could affect the living world in such a way is if they act purely from the heart, in a singularly individual action driven by an unselfish desire. And that's why it is so effective against the Hive! The hive exists only to benefit the mother. All their actions are selfish, singular minded and always meticulously thought out for them. They have no remorse for either the uninfected or their own kin, as long as the mother is happy. But for someone, someone with no body of their own to stand up to them as an actual _individual_ with a pure, unselfish goal?¨

Hidgens left the question hanging, and it was like Emma´s brain switched on for the first time as she remembered the general's words.

¨Pure actions create pure results...¨

¨Exactly, Emma!¨

Hidgens looked at her the same way he usually did when she understood a concept or got a question right, and his encouragement fueled Emma on.

“So you're saying that zombies can be stopped by their ghosts taking a stand against them for some completely unselfish action, like protecting someone else? Then why hasn't every ghost been standing up to these zombie assholes left and right so they can set themselves free?”

“Because Emma, then it wouldn't be truly unselfish. If they knew that their was even a slim chance that they could help themselves in the process, then that little spark of desire could throw the whole operation. Theoretically, the only way it can happen is if no ulterior motive is present and the ghost in question has no clue that they can actually affect their environment to obtain a certain outcome. Ignorance is key in this instance.”

“Okay…so, to recap; Alice pulled some kind if ghost superpower stuff that can only be pulled off if someone has a pure goal and acts on impulse, with no desire to help themselves at all.”

“Exactly, my dear Emma.”

Hidgens nodded, satisfied with his theory as he began pacing again. Emma was absorbing all the information, her mind whizzing forward to new conclusions yet struggling to grasp at concepts at the same time.

_Jesus, this feels like school all over again._

Hidgens continued pacing and his words cut through Emma's thoughts.

¨Well, of course, we now have to figure out how to keep you safe. I almost caused your death once and I by no means will be willing to do it again through indirect factors. So I will lend whatever services I can that would benefit you in any way. Just say the word and I'll assist you. Just don´t ask me to pick up an object, of course.¨

The professor chuckled and stopped in front of Emma, expecting at least a smile. He was definitely _not_ expecting to see her face cloud over with a dark determination.

¨Help me destroy the damn meteor.¨

Hidgens shook his head a small bit, almost like he was trying to shake Emma´s words.

¨What was that, Emma?¨

¨I said, help me destroy the god. Damn. meteor.¨

Hidgens looked at her, and she elaborated.

¨I don't want to just...survive anymore. I don't want to spend the rest of my life running from some stupid freaking aliens while I'm surrounded by the ghosts of people they've killed! I want to either take that freaking space rock out for good or die trying because dammit, if all of you guys are rallying around me because I´m your only hope then I might as well give you something to root for.¨

Hidgens looked shocked for a moment, but then regained his senses.

¨Well, as noble as I think your goal is and as much as I want to see those alien bastards killed myself, what exactly do you propose as a plan?¨

¨Simple. Blow up the meteor. Just like...oh _god_...¨

Emma groaned and threw her head in her hands, and Hidgens could tell she was close to tears. He forgot himself for a moment and put his hand on her shoulder in comfort, but if Emma noticed she didn't let on. She merely held her head for a moment and composed herself, eventually sniffing and peeking her head over the tips of her fingers, still staring at the ground.

¨God, Hidgens it was all my fault! It's all my freaking fault! I´m the one who sent Paul in to blow up the meteor, I´m the reason he´s...he´s….¨

¨Oh, Emma...¨

Hidgens hovered his arms around Emma's shoulders so to not make her too cold as she tried her best not to cry. Oh god, now she knows how Bill felt. Knowing that she was the reason someone she loved had died, knowing that _she_ was the reason that Paul, the infamous musical hater was currently dancing and singing around the streets of his lifelong town made her sick to her stomach with guilt.

God, she _was_ the supervillain.

She would have been content to sit there for a moment and cry, but she thought of Paul. Of the torture he was going through because of her. Of his willingness to sacrifice everything for humanity, and for her.

It was time to return the favor.

She composed herself, fueled by the thought of her chance, Her chance to save the world, her chance to get revenge on those freaking zombie assholes, her chance to make it up to Paul.

She stood, eyes red but otherwise okay. She looked at Hidgens expectantly.

¨So? How am I gonna do this?¨

Hidgens thought for a moment.

¨Well, from what I could feel while still somewhat connected to my body, Paul did manage to blow up most of the meteor, but by that point the spores had overtaken his body to the point of apotheosis. And although this may disturb you to hear, the part of the meteor that was left was not strong enough on its own to serve on as a full hivemind, so...¨

Emma stopped her fretting and looked at him.

¨What is it?¨

Hidgens took a breath and looked Emma directly in the eyes, his filled with sympathy and discomfort to match her steely determination.

¨The meteor itself wasn't strong enough to serve as the full hivemind, so it sent its spores into Paul´s body. He is the new leader of the Hive.¨

Emma stopped for a second, taking in the new information about the new dynamic of the Hive. She looked up suddenly, startling Hidgens.

¨Great. Perfect. This just means that I get to finally destroy that son of a bitch inside of Paul´s body.¨

Hidgens seemed taken aback by Emma´s sudden desire for revenge, but Emma wasn't done talking.

¨And I´m gonna set all of the ghosts in Hatchetfield free while I'm at it. General MacNamara, Paul...and you.¨

Just the thought of being free and with his boys again made Hidgens light up and allowed his mind to flow with scenarios and possibilities, a feeling he hadn´t experienced since his initial apocalypse theory decades ago. Emma looked at him and she saw the cogs in his mind whirring. Eventually, he looked up.

¨Well, one thing's for sure. You´re going to need to take out a lot of alien shit in a short span of time.¨

He and Emma locked eyes, and he smiled. Emma smiled back.

¨Have you ever used a shotgun before?¨

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you hear the word? She´s a comin. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you guys have to say in the comments, especially if you have theories about what´s to come! Thank you all for reading and commenting, I´ll see you in the next chapter!


	8. When the World's at Stake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma sets out to complete the hardest task of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Life got crazy on me and it will continue to get crazier but let me just say this: get ready for some WILD chapters. That's all I have to say right now, so on with the show.

“How does the mask fit, Emma?”

“It fits great, professor.”

Emma took the mask off, de-muffling her voice and returning to her work. Hidgens was busy flitting around his storeroom, taking inventory of the different weapons and helpful objects while Emma examined her new toys (each with the safety on. Hidgens would never allow Emma to hurt herself while under his supervision, all past lapses of judgement aside). Hidgens had directed Emma to the gas masks upon entering the armoury and had Emma try on several of them after telling her how to apply particle filters. He had explained the spore situation and its effects to her, making Emma go slightly weak in the knees once she thought about her poor Paul, gripping the grenade belt and fighting for control of his own mind as his body was slowly being overtaken by some stupid alien spores. 

_ Jesus, all he wanted was a black coffee. Poor guy didn't ask for any of that. _

With guilt flowing thickly through her veins, Emma swallowed and picked up a long package from the corner and opened it. 

“Jesus, professor, a sword? Where the hell did you get this?”

Hidgens looked over and smiled, beckoning for Emma to put the katana down. 

“I had a colleague bring it back to me from Japan. Most awkward conversation of my life. One can never be too careful in preparing for something like this, my dear. As 'cool’ as it may be, I think something that can do damage from a further range would be appropriate.”

Emma turned the blade over in her hand. 

“Nah, I can work with this. I’ve stabbed my way through this hive before. At least this isn't as small as my dagger.”

Hidgens sighed and beckoned Emma to come over once more.

“Yes, but how successful do you think you would be if you burst into the Starlight and  _ stabbed _ the meteor into oblivion?”

Emma didn't answer. Hidgens chuckled. 

“That's what I thought. Now come over here and look at these.”

Emma huffed, put the katana down and made her way over to where Hidgens was gesturing. Inside a very carefully packed crate were several pistols, a few shotguns and boxes and boxes of bullets. Hidgens moved to pick one of the guns up, but remembered his new ghostly limitations and thought better of it. 

“If I were you, I would go with a smaller weapon, but one that can do a lot of damage in a short span of time. You’re gonna be fighting a lot of Infecteds where you’re going.”

Emma nodded, and after going over weight ratios and strategy Hidgens, she selected a small pistol, about a dozen bullets and an ice ax for Emma’s own self defense. Hidgens had almost moved on to the meteor-destroying part of the plan when he saw Emma slip her trusty knife into her back pocket. 

“Still bringing that thing? Wouldn’t you like something better?”

Emma shrugged and patted her back pocket. This knife has kept me alive so far. If I make it out of this, I’m gonna hang it up on my wall like one of those stupid novelty singing fish, but, ya know, a knife.”

Hidgens looked confused for a second, and then shrugged. 

“I guess I can’t argue with that. Now, how do you propose we destroy the meteor? I’m sorry to say that some of my more, ah, heavy-duty weaponry was confiscated during that blasted home inspection, but I’m sure you can find some way to get around that. Use that struggling-college student resourcefulness, Emma.”

Emma smiled and thought. Damnit, every time she thought of the meteor, she couldn’t help but see Paul’s pale face, wide-eyed but determined as he clutched the strap across his chest, the strap of…

“The grenades! I sent Paul to fight the meteor with a bunch of grenades!”

Hidgens lit up. 

“Of course, Emma! The grenades! I remember my body’s reaction to them, they clearly put the hive on edge. And if I remember correctly, Paul only had time to pull the pin on one of them . And dormant grenades can survive in battlefields for years, even if their fellows have detonated! So by that logic…”

“They must still be at the starlight, since I don’t remember seeing any of those stupid zombies with any weapons in that PEIP center. If I can find them, I can use the rest of them to destroy what’s left of the meteor, and hopefully zombie Paul, too.”

Hidgens nodded, and he and Emma high-fived. Or at least, they tried to. All they succeeded in doing was making Emma fall through Hidgens’ abdomen once they both remembered that ghosts were, indeed, not solid.

Once Emma had pushed herself up, she began to prepare. The sun had gone down hours ago, leaving twilight hanging in the air. Emma knew that she would have t make the trek out to the Starlight soon, because if she waited too long she was sure that the Hive would try to stop her plan before she even had time to fully understand what she was about to do. 

After some contemplation, she decided to abandon her pack in favor of just carrying her weapons. With Hidgens’ help, she strapped the ax onto her back and stowed her knife in one pocket and her pistol in the other, with bullets loaded in and the safety on. A bullet belt was decidedly too annoying and slow so they decided against it. Her gas mask was resting on top of her head, held in place by her ponytail and ready to be pulled down at a moment’s notice. Emma rolled the sleeves of her shirt past her elbows and re-tied her sneakers. 

Physically, she was ready to face hell. But mentally? She wasn’t so sure. 

She forced herself to choke down some toast and drink some water. She wanted to make sure her energy was up for the fight ahead. With everything in place, Emma squared her shoulders and made her way to Hidgens’ back door. If she stuck to the woods and the alleyways she was beginning to know so well, she could be at the Starlight in ten, meaning that her chances of discovery and/or ambush were lower. She took a breath and was about to set out when she felt the air grow colder behind her. She turned and saw Hidgens. 

Crap. She almost forgot to say goodbye. 

She was about to thank him for all he had done for her, but before she had uttered a word, she was shocked into silence by a sheer tidal wave of emotion as her professor began to address her. 

“Emma, I was hoping to save this speech for your graduation, but obviously the current circumstances seem to have demolished that plan. Emma...I’m so sorry. I had been theorizing about this apocalypse for 30 years, but I  _ never _ in my wildest dreams could have envisioned someone like you walking into my life. You were the closest thing I ever had to a daughter, and as such I never would have wished upon you the reality that you are currently entrapped in. My dear, sweet Emma, there’s only one thing I want you to do. _Survive_. Survive, my darling, and then I’ll know that I didn’t screw up at this whole, “pseudo surrogate father” thing as much as I thought. I love you like a daughter, Emma. Please don’t let this be the last time anyone sees you breathing.”

Hidgens looked desperate, just like a father who knew that he was losing everything that made life worth it. Emma swallowed, reached up and kissed Hidgens’ ghostly cheek. 

“I love you too, Dad.”

And with that, she was gone. 

\---------------

Emma felt like she was going to vomit. 

She stood outside the side entrance Starlight, gas mask in place and weapons ready. He had only been inside the building a few times before, but her objective was cler, even if her memory about the place wasn’t. 

Get in, destroy the meteor and that son of a bitch alien in Paul’s body, then get out. Simple. 

Knowing that she was losing time and determination, Emma pushed the door open as quietly as possible and made her way through the lobby of the theater, the lenses on her gas mask allowing her to see the thick blue spores dotting the air. She breathed in and felt inside of her like Hidgens had told her, and feeling no unnatural desire to sing, she pressed forward. She found her way to the big, heavy auditorium doors that led to the theater and pushed them open, eyes closed. However,even her shut eyelids couldn’t keep the blue glow from shining through, and she opened her eyes to see the meteor, surrounded by the splinters of the stage and pulsing with a green glow like some kind of weird sci-fi effect. This she expected. 

What she did not expect, however, was to see the translucent figure of a tall, gangly man kicking the meteor as hard as he could while his foot went right through the rock. Emma felt tears sting her eyes. She could hardly breathe, although this had nothing to do with the spores. 

“Paul?”

The man’s head whipped around, coming to rest on Emma’s black clad figure. 

“Emma?”

_ “Paul!” _

They both surged forward at the same time, Emma running down the aisle and Paul running through seats like they weren’t even there, they collided-or at least tried to- with Emma ending up closer to the stage and Paul ending up by the entrance, both having forgotten the ‘no contact’ rule in their elation and their desperation to simply hold each other after the shared nightmare they had been through. Emma, disgusted at being so close to the meteor and desperate to be nearer to Paul ran forward, the two meeting each other halfway. They stood in front of each other, with Emma looking up at Paul’s pale blue eyes and Paul looking down at her brown ones through the lenses of the gas mask. Both spoke together. 

“You have no  _ idea _ how much I’ve missed you.”

They both exhaled and looked each other up and down. To Emma, Paul looked almost the same as he did when she had last seen him, sans grenade belt and now with a ghostly translucence. His jacket was gone and his sleeves were past his elbows, and she could see the ghostly bloodstains from their failed kiss. God, she had missed seeing his stupid puppy-dog face looking down at her. 

And to Paul, Emma looked like she had gone through hell. Which she had. 

“Emma, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be halfway to Guatemala right now.”

“Paul, I came here to finish what you’ve started. I’m gonna destroy the meteor.”

Before Paul could protest and convince her to turn back, their worst fears entered the dim blue light of the auditorium and spoke with a melodic monotone. 

“Oh no you’re not.”

Emma and Paul both whipped around. 

The Hive had arrived. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting to write these chapters since the beginning of the book. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this little cliffhanger, but don't worry! More will be coming soon! As always, don't forget to comment and tell me what you think! I can't wait to hear when you have to say!


	9. Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The showdown has finally begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm not dead! Sorry it took me so long to update guys, life got in the way and I just...kinda let this fic go a little bit. But don't worry! This story is back in full steam and nearing it's conclusion! Just bear with me for a little longer, and I promise, the last few chapters won't leave you hanging. That's all for now, see you at the end of the chapter!

“Shit.”

Emma slung her axe over her shoulder and into her hand, shaking and terrified but ready to fight. All of a sudden her surroundings really hit her and she realized just how stupid she was for coming here. She had quite literally handed the home field advantage to the Hive and she knew that only a particle filter in her mask stood between her and eternal servitude to a freaking  _ rock.  _

Oh sweet Jesus she never should have come here.

 The second that the Hive had spoken Paul had moved in front of Emma, staring the aliens down even though they couldn’t see his act of heroism. Paul was shaking too, legs planted and shoulders squared, glancing back at Emma frequently to make sure that she was okay. He may not have a corporeal body anymore but he sure as Hell wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He would rather spend an eternity performing  _ Annie _ than let Emma fall to the Hive.

“Don’t worry Emma. I’ll protect you.”

“No, Paul, they can’t see you! It’s not worth it.”

"You're worth it, Emma. You've made it this far, I'm not letting you go down now." 

Emma-grateful as she was-did not have time to feel touched by Paul's heroism, as the Hive had begun to take jerky, synchronized steps forward, stopping just a few feet ahead of Emma, who was gripping her axe so tightly that she was hyper aware of every bump in the handle. She could feel her pistol and her knife in each of her pockets, and she could feel the cold air of Paul, who had moved next to her, both of them staring intently at the Hive and waiting for them to make a move.

Instead of surging forward like Emma expected, the Hive parted like the Red Sea, wide and toothy grins adorning their uncanny faces. Emma stared through her gas mask in horror as a gangly figure came strolling through the opening, eyes blazing a hostile, icy blue. 

Emma gripped her axe tighter and bared her teeth as she stared right into the face of Paul's infected body. 

"You son of a Bitch."

Paul's body grinned, head cocked at an awkward angle, unblinking eyes taking in the only living person left in Hatchetfield. His smile made Emma nauseous; his blue-stained teeth were perfectly displayed in a twisted, hostile version of a comedy mask. When his body had shown itself, Paul's ghost had reached out slightly to take Emma's hand for support, which mostly resulted in Emma's hand tingling from cold as Paul's hand intersected hers and hovered there. Emma chanced a quick glance at Paul's ghost, who was staring-wide eyed and horrified- at his zombie for what Emma could only assume was the first time. She squeezed her hand once in the cold air as a gesture of reassurance as his body began to speak with the stupidly rhythmic, unified voice of the Hive.

"Emma Perkins. Finally come to join us. The Hive is very angry with you, Emma. But don't worry, join us and you will be forgiven. Yes, you'll be forgiven very quickly."

The filters on Emma's gas mask worked rapidly as her breathing quickened. Paul's spirit noticed and shot her a concerned look, hovering his hand over her arm. Emma closed her eyes briefly and allowed herself a moment of peace. Sure, the horrifying abomination filling Paul's body might be right in front of her, but the real Paul, her Paul, was right next to her, like her secret weapon. 

With a newfound burst of confidence, Emma tore her eyes away from Paul's alien and looked at her other threats. She could feel the meteor behind her, and it's blue radiance allowed her to she the faces of Paul's lackeys. Right behind him stood the infected body of Hudgens, who was flanked by Ted's smirking, infected corpse. On the other side stood General McNamara's alien, who was followed by three other PEIP agents. Emma was pleasantly surprised to see how few zombies had come to confront her. Either PEIP did a better job than Emma thought at eliminating the zombies, or there were..ore waiting to ambush her. 

Either way, the sooner she could destroy the meteor and the new leader of the Hive filling her almost-boyfriend's body, the better.

Emma raised her axe slightly higher and planted her feet, Paul's ghost moving into battle stance next to her. The leader of the Hive noticed Emma's change in position and smiled wider, cocking his head slightly more. The entire Hive joined in with him, his taunting sounding very choir-like. 

"You think you can fight? Your chances of success are infinitesimal at best. The Hive had strength in numbers. The war is ours to win, Emma. You stand no chance. Surrender now and your death will be minimally painful."

Emma paused for a second, which the Hive took as her consideration. 

Then, without warning, she dropped her axe and pulled her pistol out of her pocket and in one swift movement, she shot General McNamara's three soldiers in the head before swooping down to secure her axe on her back again, all before the bodies hit the floor and the Hive could react. 

"There's my answer, assholes."

The Hive looked at Emma, and Emma looked out at the Hive and to Paul's ghost, who was standing aghast next to her. 

Then all Hell broke loose. 

The Infecteds surged forward as Paul's body moved backwards, sending his minions forward first to protect his own skin. The Hive began singing a battle song about rogues to raise their morale. The meteor began emitting it's last storage of spores in an attempt to pull Emma over, but her gas mask was securely fastened and extremely effective. Emma herself had taken out all the stops, shooting until she ran out of bullets and slashing and cutting any chance she could, scanning every area of the theater she could for the grenade belt. Paul's alien had disappeared from the battle entirely, but Emma didn't have time to worry about hao lication. The Hive tried to pile up on her, only to realize that someone packing heat was not an easy target. Any time anyone got close, Emma would swipe out with one of her weapons, a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. Paul was doing anything he could to be helpful, watching Emma's back and warning her when someone got close, shouting encouragement to her in an attempt to drown out the drone of the Infected. 

"Ted on your left, Em!"

Emma whipped around and stabbed Ted in the abdomen while shooting at General McNamara from behind her back, using the two melodic grunts of pain as a sign to start vaulting over the seats, still looking for the grenades. Her aim was a little off on account of her panic, but she had managed to seriously injure and maim everyone who came too close, meaning that the battle was evenly matched. 

But as much as she was weakening her opponents, she could feel her adrenaline ebbing away, leaving her weaker and weaker with each passing moment, and there was  _ still  _ no sign of the grenade belt. Emma was beginning to lose hope as she skidded back to the front of the theater, Paul’s ghost fast at her heels. The Hive was too weakened and injured to fight back, all of them leaned over and clutching their injuries. Panting, Emma turned to Paul’s ghost. 

“You think we got em?”

Paul’s spirit was about to answer when a bone-chilling voice rang throughout the theater.

“Emma, I’m sorry...You lost….”

Emma’s cheeks drained of color as she turned to the theater isle, where she could see the supernaturally poised and long body of the new Hive leader strolling leisurely towards her, the almost empty grenade belt across his chest as he held a grenade in either hand. Emma’s internal dialogue turned into mostly swearing, but it was Paul who gave voice to that dialogue. 

“Holy shit.”

Emma nodded slightly as she pulled her axe over her head, as it was the one weapon she had left that wasn’t either out of bullets or covered in blue blood. Paul’s ghost stood next to Emma, staring at the grenades in his body’s hands and trying not to have a panic attack. Sure, he couldn’t be hurt, but he would  _ never _ be able to forgive himself if he had to watch  _ his own body  _ lob a grenade at the woman he loved. 

Emma swallowed thickly as Paul’s body stopped a little before reaching her, rolling the grenade in his fingers coyly, as if he didn’t hold a weapon of mass destruction in his fist. Emma backed up slowly, only to stop abruptly when her back collided with the stage. As quickly as she could, she jumped up onto the stage so she was directly in front of the meteor, as Paul’s alien grin kept getting bigger. The other infected had begun to limp after him, wide grins on their faces despite their obvious pain. It might have been all the spores in the air, but Emma could have sworn that their eyes we glowing blue. 

Paul’s spirit had moved next to her, grabbing her hand like before and successfully grounding Emma away from her panic. She shook her head to clear it of her thoughts of impending doom as the Hive got closer.

_ Just within throwing distance _ , Emma thought as her heart dropped. 

The Hive stopped moving forward, and Hive leader Paul stared at Emma like a predator glaring at its prey. The whole Hive opened their mouths and did their creepy unison chanting. 

“Your life ends here, Emma Perkins. Be proud of how far you’ve come, you were the only person to resist our influence for so long. So die proud, Emma. The Hive will bring you home soon enough.”

The choir of voices died down until just one remained; the Hive leader, who looked at Emma with steely eyes and a plastered smile. He lifted the grenades slightly and looked at her momentarily before ripping both pins out with his teeth.

“Any last words, Miss Perkins?”

“Yeah,” Emma said, knowing she only had a moment to spare. 

“Go fuck yourself.”

Then everything happened at once. 

The Hive’s eyes widened as Emma slipped her axe off of her back in lightning-fast pull as she lobbed it forward at the same time Hive leader Paul let loose the grenades, chucking them at Emma milliseconds before her axe embedded in his skull, effectively ending his very short reign. She just barely saw the Hive surge forward in a last futile attempt to destroy her as their life force drained, all of them determined to kill the girl that had defeated them before they drew their last breath. Emma was too busy jumping from the stage and covering her neck in a feeble attempt to protect herself from the impending explosion from the grenades that had landed in the meteor.

She knew she wasn’t far enough, she could feel the Hive crawling towards her, she could feel her last moments approaching. 

The last thing she saw before she lost sight was the most brilliant flash of white light she had ever seen as Paul’s ghost jumped in between her and the hive, the last thing she could hear before the blanked was her Paul screaming and the Hive screaming, and she might have been screaming too.

The grenades detonated in a brilliant explosion as Emma Perkins slipped away, her world ceasing to be in a flash of fire, melody and warm, white light

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emma's in a pretty rough spot, isn't she?
> 
> As per usual guys, leave me a comment and tell me what you think! This story isn't over yet, so please hang on for the last leg of the journey! Next chapter will be up soon, I promise!


	10. Happy Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story comes to a close...almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, this is it. I hope you enjoyed taking this ride with me, I gotta say I really enjoyed writing it. Please, PLEASE let me know what you thought about my lovely fic, either by leaving a comment or messaging me/tagging me at my tumblr, @untitled5071 . I would love to hear from you guys! Let me know what this made you feel, what you thought....
> 
> But anyway, onto the chapter!

“Emma. Emma, can you hear me? Em, please wake up. You need to see this.”

Emma groaned lightly, eyes squeezed shut. She had no idea if she was even awake and she wasn’t entirely sure about what had happened. The last thing she remembered was Paul jumping between her and the Infecteds as the grenades went off on the meteor after she killed Psul’s alien. She remembered a brilliant flash of white light, but nothing after. She could feel the old carpet of the theater floor against her back and could hear a familiar voice calling out to her. It was definitely Paul’s voice, but she didn’t want to let on that she was awake in case she had failed and it was really Paul’s infected body come to do her in. 

“Em? Em, please open your eyes. It’s me, Emma. Please, please wake up.”

Deciding to take her chances, Emma opened her eyes slowly. The theater was completely silent and pitch black, save for the soft ghostly light that Paul’s spirit was giving off as he stood above her, a concerned but soft look in his translucent eyes. 

“Em, are you okay?"

Emma sat up, blinked hard and rubbed her head. 

“I think so. I don’t really feel anything. Are you okay?”

Paul chuckled lightly and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Em, I’m dead. There’s not a whole lot of ‘okay’ I can be. But yeah, I’m fine.”

Emma nodded, blinking to allow her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then, memories of the climactic battle struck Emma like a ton of bricks. 

“Holy shit Paul, did we do it? Are they dead?”

Paul gave a small nervous smile and looked down at her. 

“Come see for yourself, Em.”

He reached a hand out to her and Emma (still shell shocked from the explosion) took it. Paul helped her to her feet and gestured to the stage. There, in the darkness sat the shattered remains of the meteor, blue glow completely faded and spores gone from the air. Emma gasped, and Paul gently put his arms around her shoulders and turned her around, so she was facing the audience. And there, slumped over chairs and sprawled on the floor were the now still bodies of the infected, dead at last and finally silent. Emma cheered at the sight of the still battlefield and the complete lack of music in the air. 

“YEAH! Paul, we did it! Hell yeah! Oh my god, we did it!”

Paul looked fondly at Emma as she beamed at him before watching her move forward to inspect the bodies.

Emma gasped slightly when she saw Paul’s body and the axe laying next to it, covered in dried blue blood. Emma looked over at Paul’s ghost, who shrugged as he slipped his hand into hers.

“Bastard had it coming.”

Emma gave a weak smile and looked over the other bodies, still holding Paul’s hand. She walked over to Hidgens’ body, smiling softly. This was the most peaceful she had seen him in a long time, save for the bullet and stab wounds. 

“I hope you finally get some rest, professor. You were surprisingly the most functional father figure I ever had.”

She examined Ted next, smirking a but at his out-of place moustache.

“Rest in peace, asshole. I guess you could have been worse.”

She did the same with all the bodies present, wishing them peace and imagining their spirits going free in her mind’s eye. Paul stayed with her the entire time. 

Once she thought she got everyone, she smiled at Paul and headed to the stage again, only to stop short when she almost stumbled into a forgotten body. Paul caught her as she fell, and she was just about to thank him when she looked down at the body to identify it. 

Emma screamed for the first time in days.

 There, on the floor, with gas mask askew and eyes shut, laid Emma’s body. For the first time, Emma was aware of her contact with Paul; an incredibly  _ solid  _ feeling Paul, and she could feel how cold his body was against hers. She looked down at her hand and saw the same ghostly glow that surrounded all the spirits of Hatchetfield. Her breathing quickened but she soon realized that she wasn’t taking in any air. In the midst of her panic, Paul wrapped his arms around her, her tiny body fitting perfectly in his lanky frame. She looked up at him, eyes wide and horrified. 

“Oh my GOD, oh my god Paul, am I dead? Am I dead?”

Paul held her at arms length and looked into her eyes, desperate to ease some of her distress. 

“Emma, Emma listen to me. Take a deep breath-er, just close your eyes for a sec and try to breathe. I’m not entirely sure how to explain this, but I don’t think you’re actually dead. I think this might just be a weird, out-of-body experience thing.”

Emma looked up at him, brows raised and eyes still unsure and fearful. Paul sighed gently and guided her to one of the debris-covered theater seats. Emma looked down at her feet the whole time, trusting Paul to guide her while she tried not to walk through anything. Once she was properly seated, she watched in shocked fascination as she swiped her hand through the arm rest repeatedly while Paul tried to collect himself. 

“Now, let me just start off by saying that I have no idea what the _ hell  _ happened before the explosion. All I remember is that I saw you throw that axe into my body’s head like a badass, but then they started surging towards you, and I got scared, and all I wanted to do was protect you. So I jumped in front of you, and all of a sudden this giant freaking light thing came out of me and pushed them all off. When the explosion happened, the light was still there, and I tried to protect you from getting hit, and I guess the shield worked a little bit, because not a lot of debris hit you, but you still got ripped out of your body somehow. And I don’t know how to explain it, but I can  _ feel _ that you aren’t dead. You feel more like you’re half dead, and you still have a connection to your body, I guess. I have no damn clue.”

Emma looked at Paul, thinking hard. The light shield..where had she seen it before….

It hit her like a bullet. 

“Paul! You saved me! Pure actions create pure results, of course!”

Paul looked at her like she had three heads, so she decided to backtrack. 

“Hidgens explained to me that if a ghost has a deep desire to do something for someone else without fear of consequences or desire for personal gain, their selfless action can actually affect the living world in order to achieve the goal at hand. Paul, you were so focused on saving me, that you actually did it! You saved me from the zombies and the blast! Well, as much as you could anyway.”

Paul smiled sheepishly and looked down. Then, looking up, he pushed himself out of his chair and reached out to Emma, pulling her out of hers and taking her hands. 

“I would do anything for you, Emma. Why do you think I came here in the first place?”

Emma smiled at the sentiment, only to slap herself on the forehead a moment later. 

“Jesus Paul, I totally forgot! I’m so, so sorry! I’m the reason you came in here, I’m the reason you died, this is all my fault! I hope you don’t hate me, but I totally understand if you do, you must have been here  _ forever _ thinking about it, oh my god I’m sorry I’m so sorry please,  _ please _ forgive me.”

Paul looked down at her, eyebrows slightly furrowed. Emma took this as a negative sign, and decided on one last plea.

“Do you think you can forgive me?”

Paul gave a small smile and made a decision. Leaning down, he pulled Emma close and pressed his lips to hers. Emma was taken by surprise at the feel of Paul’s surprisingly solid lips, but she eagerly leaned into the kiss all the same. Emma wrapped her arms as tightly as they could go around Paul, afraid that he would slip away from her again. This was the kiss they should have shared years ago. In a perfect world, this would have been their hundredth kiss, shared on a sunny day, their thousandth goodbye kiss before work, their millionth ‘hello’ kiss when they wake up together. So many possibilities and so many lost moments flashed before both their eyes as they deepened the kiss that came too late. 

But instead of grieve over the lives they would never live, they deepened the kiss, content to stay in each other’s company for the rest of eternity. The two ghosts held each other, outside of time and space and finally together. 

After what felt like forever, Emma pulled away from Paul slowly, his arms still around her waist and hers around his neck. Emma smiled up into Paul’s big blue eyes, which were alight with happiness and adoration. 

“Wow.”

Emma chuckled and buried her head into his chest. 

“You’re a sucky kisser, Paul. But you’re cute and kinda badass, so I’ll allow it.”

Paul chuckled nervously and kissed her hair, happy that he finally got to show rather than tell Emma how he felt, both in life and death. 

However, he knew that his bliss would have to end. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, he looked down at Emma with a new sad determination. 

“Listen, Emma. I love you, like, a _ lot, _ but I can’t just let you stay like this. Now, I don’t know exactly  _ how _ I can feel this, but I can. You’re not entirely detached from your body. There’s still a way to bring you back to life, and I’m pretty sure I can do it. I think I can give you your life back. The only question is….what do you want to do? Do you want to stay with me, or give life a second chance?”

Emma’s breath caught in her chest as she looked from Paul’s ghostly form to her completely still body, which was still sprawled on the ancient theater carpet. She bit her lip in thought as she mulled over her options. On one hand, she could leave the troubles of living behind knowing that she had saved the world and she could spend eternity with Paul, but she would be essentially giving up. On the other hand, she could muscle through the rest of her life without any of her loved ones or friends or Paul, but she could make everyone proud by pursuing her pot farm and securing her legacy of the last Hatchetfield survivor. She would be pacing if she didn’t feel so comfortable in Paul’s arms. Looking up at him, she could tell that he was waiting for her decision. Paul cocked an eyebrow, and Emma closed her eyes. 

“Um…..”

 

 

 

CHOOSE EMMA’S FATE Chapter 11-Emma Dies Chapter 12-Emma Lives 


	11. Ending 1: Emma Dies

Squeezing her eyes shut, Emma made up her mind. 

“I want to stay with you. Don’t send me back.”

Paul looked taken aback for a moment, and Emma could tell that deep down he was touched. But his morals took over as he stroked her cheek, looking deep into her eyes. 

“Emma, are you sure? You’re giving up your life here, it’s not necessarily something you’ll come across again. We all lost our lives to some stupid campy aliens, and I’m sure most of us would kill to get them back. Besides, you killed all the aliens. Life can’t get any worse from here. Are you sure this is what you want?”

Emma smiled softly and kissed Paul again, grabbing his face the way she had in Hidgens’ bunker before he had left for the school. When they parted, Emma had a newfound determination in her eyes. 

“Paul, I appreciate that you’re trying to prevent me from essentially committing suicide, but think about it. My life wasn’t going anywhere anyway. I was stuck working on a shitty coffee shop, I was barely struggling through college, and the only people I could have considered as friends all perished in an alien invasion that I basically had to end single-handedly. And besides, if I join the fatalities, then that gives PEIP one less thing to explain. I’m sure this is what I want.”

Paul still looked unsure, so Emma laced her fingers with his, pulling his attention away from his concern.

“And of course, the only thing that made my life even remotely worth fighting for in the first place was you. I fought this whole battle hoping that you would be on the other side waiting for me, I fought hoping that I would be making you proud. And now I have the chance to spend the rest of eternity with you? It practically makes up my mind for me. I love you, Paul. I wish I could have told you sooner. But now, after all I’ve done, after all I’ve been through, I just want to spend the rest of my afterlife with you on some beach in Heaven somewhere.”

Paul smiled softly and gave Emma another kiss, praying that she was making the right decision but secretly ecstatic that they were finally going to get their happy ending. Well, kind of. 

Emma leaned into the kiss and was about to comment on the fact that they didn’t need to come up for air anymore when the sound of pounding footsteps pushed them both away from each other as both of them stared at the door, worried that more Infecteds were gonna burst through the door and revive their fellows. 

“Oh Jesus Christ, not again.”

However, both of them were relieved and slightly surprised to see a swarm of gas mask clad PEIP agents brandishing weapons and looking wildly around for any signs of trouble. They obviously didn’t notice Paul and Emma (who were still in each other’s arms in the corner) as they noticed and began to inspect the bodies of the Infected that were littering the floor. Fascinated by the fact that she was invisible to the PEIP agents, Emma pulled away from Paul as if in a trance and stuck her arm out, watching in horrified intrigue as a woman wearing a colonel's uniform passed right through it on her way to the meteor, shivering against her will as she passed through the spot of cold air that Emma’s arm had become. 

Emma stared at her own arm as if it had become a foreign object as Paul came up behind her, chuckling to himself as he put his hands on her shoulders.

“Yeah, you never really get used to that. Come on, let’s see what the verdict is.”

Emma nodded, grateful that Paul had a little more experience than her in this area. She took his hand and they walked over to the stage, where the Colonel had finished inspecting the scattered, minuscule remains of the meteor and grenade shells. Turning to her soldiers, she raised her hand for silence. 

“It appears as though the problem has been solved for us, men. The meteor has been destroyed via approximately three grenades, and the Hive lays dead.”

The soldier standing over Hidgens’ body spoke up.

“But how? Was it a group suicide?” 

Colonel Schaffer shook her head.

“No. Someone beat us to it. Her.”

Colonel Schaffer pointed to Emma’s body, with gas mask askew. 

“Emma Perkins, 31. Formerly known as the last remaining Hatchetfield survivor. She clearly came in here with a plan and somehow she managed to do single-handedly what some of PEIP’s finest could not. She fought the whole Hive single-handedly and managed to survive in musical hell long enough to save the world. She must have been one hell of a fighter. May she rest in peace.”

Paul squeezed Emma’s hand as the Colonel examined her body. After removing Emma’s mask, the Colonel stood again and motioned for her soldiers to move out. 

“Lets go, men. We have a lot of graves to dig and a lot of press to do. Unfortunately, no one can know about Miss Perkins’ heroism. The Hatchetfield disaster must remain a secret.

Emma rolled her eyes and scoffed. 

“Great, just great. The coolest and most badass thing I will ever do, and no one will ever know about it. Perfect.”

Paul smiled and gave Emma a peck on the cheek as the PEIP soldiers left the room, carrying bodies with them to be buried. 

“It’s okay Emma. You’ll always be a badass to me.”

Emma smiled and took his hand again. 

“And don’t you ever forget it. Are you ready to go?”

Paul looked around at the now abandoned theater, then swung his head around to look at the now vacant meteor crater. Then, he looked down at Emma and smiled. 

“Yeah, I am. I just need one more thing.”

Paul took Emma’s hand in his and kissed her one last time, eyes closed softly as he felt Emma push against him, finally content with his unfinished business. 

The sun rose through the dusty windows of the Starlight theater as Emma and Paul faded away,  content in each other’s arms as a warm peace finally settled over them.

They were happy at last. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, that's it! I hope you enjoyed the story! Since I've gotten quite a few comments about how much people liked this story, I would love to hear from you! Please, please message me at my Tumblr, @untitled5071 and let me know if my story affected you in any way! I would probably absolutely die if anyone did fanart, but any form of hearing from you guys would be fantastic! And who knows, maybe you guys will inspire me to write some new one-shots or fics! Please. please comment and send me a little message to help me send this fic off with a bang! Thank you all for reading, I love you all!


	12. Ending 2; Emma Lives

Emma thought for just a moment longer before opening her eyes and giving Paul a hard look. 

“I want to go back. I can’t give up now.”

Paul looked at her for a moment, then nodded. Emma could tell that there was a little bit of hurt behind his movements, so she reached up and grabbed his face just like she had done before Paul’s trip to the school. Paul turned his eyes to her and she gave him a soft smile. 

“Hey. Listen to me. I love you so much, and I would want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, but look at this. Look at you! You’ve been stuck in limbo for so long, and I want you to be free. Look Paul, we did it! We killed the Hive, and you finally got to tell me how you really feel.”

“No I didn’t, I-”

Emma put a finger to his lips. 

“Yes you did. I could tell from the moment you pulled me from Beanies. You risked your life for me time and time again, you saved me time and time again, and I sent you into the landmine without thinking, which is 100% the worst decision I’ve ever made. And yet, you still fought by my side even after all the goddamn pain I put you through. I know you love me, and I’m just sorry that it took me this long to realize that I love you too. Everyone in Hatchetfield has been rallying around me as I fight my way through Hell, and everyone wanted me to survive. So that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna make you and the rest of Hatchetfield proud until I can join you for real, hopefully after giving the trauma and horror I’ve gained in the past week the middle finger for the rest of my life.”

Paul gave a weak chuckle, so Emma decided to ease his worries by giving him a quick kiss. She smiled at his surprise and continued. 

“I want to make  _ you _ proud. I want to set you free.”

Paul nodded and took both of Emma’s hands in his, running his thumbs over her skin so he could savor the feeling of her. 

“I love you so much, Emma. I have since the moment I walked into Beanies for the first time, and I could tell you were trying so hard to restrain yourself from punching that creep who wouldn’t leave Zoey alone.”

Both of them chuckled at the memory, and Paul continued. 

“I would do anything for you, and I only want you to be happy. And if that means I have to wait, then it means I have to wait. But don’t wait for me, Emma. I want you to go out into the world, make friends, be happy. Don’t worry about me. I love you Emma, and I’ll be waiting for you whenever you decided to join me. But I want you to remember that I’ll always be with you, Em. I’m not gonna turn into a crazy ghost stalker or anything, just….don’t forget me, okay?”

Emma was trying really hard not to cry, partially because she wasn’t sure if ghosts could cry. But nonetheless, she smiled. 

“Oh Paul, I could never forget you. It’s hard to forget a guy whose willing to go through his own personal hell to save you.”

“You are so worth it Emma. You always have been.”

Paul smiled at her and she smiled at him, and then both of them moved forward at the same time for a long, soft kiss, which both of them knew was goodbye. They both wished they could have held there for eternity, but they knew that the longer they stayed like this, the harder the goodbye would be. Paul slowly pulled away, arms still wrapped around Emma as his eyes traveled all around her body as if he was trying to etch her into his memory. Emma was doing the same. 

Paul gave Emma a small smile as he held out his hand, which Emma took as she allowed herself to be led to her body. Paul helped guide her through the steps until she was sitting inside her body, staring at Paul as he knelt next to her, one hand on her body and the other on her ghost. He gave her a small smile as he closed his eyes. 

“Well, here goes nothing.”

Emma gave him a small salute and winked.

“See you on the other side.”

Paul chuckled and then centered himself, closing his eyes as a surge of power came from his hands. Emma closed her eyes as a flow of energy came over her, and she felt like she was being pulled down a drain for barely a moment before she gasped, eyes flinging open as her heart sputtered to life and began to pump again. Taking a deep breath in, Emma turned her head to see the ghostly form of Paul looking down at her with a great deal of concern. She reached out to him and he tried to take her hand, only for a shiver to run down Emma’s spine as her hand went right through his. 

Welp, there goes physical contact. 

Emma sat up slowly since her blood hadn’t fully equalized yet and was about to figure out a plan of action when both Paul and Emma snapped their heads to the theater doors as the sound of thundering footsteps grew louder and louder. Still weak from being reunited with her body, Emma looked around for her weapons so she could defend herself in case some forgotten Infecteds had come to seek revenge. 

“Goddamn it, here we go again.”

Emma struggled to get up as the sound of footsteps grew louder, determined to fight until the bitter end if she had to. Paul stayed by her side the whole time, looking like he desperately wanted to help her up but knowing that he couldn’t. They both prepared for the worst as the footsteps reached the door and the sound of breaking wood could be heard.

Luckily for them, the possible Infecteds just turned out to be PEIP agents ready for their final raid. All of them were prepared to see a hoard of aliens crowded around a still intact meteor, strong, numerous and ready to fight. 

They definitely weren’t expecting to see a single girl in an all black outfit struggling to support herself on the edge of the stage, surrounded by bodies and the scattered remains of the meteor. 

Each soldier immediately pointed their guns at Emma, extremely cautious and expecting a surprise attack. Emma saw their weapons and scoffed weakly as she stood slowly. 

“Jesus guys, calm down. Don’t worry, I’m human. And I’m pretty goddamn tired right now, so if you wouldn’t threaten me right now, that would be great.”

The soldiers seemed very taken aback by hearing her speak without a hint of a melody, but none of them fully lowered their guns. That is, they didn’t until their colonel pushed her way through them, signalling for them to stand down as she calmly approached Emma, who looked her up and down suspiciously. The colonel stopped before Emma and held out her hand. 

“Hello, Miss Perkins. My name is Colonel Schaffer, and I can not begin to tell you how pleased I am to see you alive.”

Emma eyed Schaffer’s hand warily and glanced over at Paul, who shrugged. Emma took her hand slowly and shook it, wondering if there was an ulterior motive. 

“Don’t worry Miss Perkins, I can assure you that me and my men are not infected. We are from the PEIP division in Clivesdale, and we were preparing to deal with the invasion ourselves after the Hatchetfield division failed. We know your name because of PEIP’s advanced scanners, and we determined that you were the last living person on this god forsaken island. Our mission today was to destroy the Hive and rescue you, but by the looks of it, you’ve done just fine on your own.”

The colonel gestured to all the dead bodies around her and both Paul and Emma gave simultaneous scoffs. The colonel obviously didn’t notice Paul and continued with her explanation. 

“Miss Perkins, I hope you know how impressive your destruction of the Hive is. You single handedly accomplished what some of PEIP’s finest agents could not, and you somehow managed to stay alive long enough to see it through. You have saved the world, Miss Perkins.”

Before Emma had time to flush with pride, the colonel continued. 

“Unfortunately, you will never be able to tell anyone of your accomplishments. The real events behind the Hatchetfield disaster must forever remain a mystery to the general public, meaning that your heroism must remain a secret as well. Once we bury these bodies, there is to be no more trace of life in Hatchetfield. However, as thanks, PEIP will help you fabricate any new identity that you choose, and we will do our damndest to make sure that the rest of your life is lived in complete safety and luxury. Do you have any idea what you want to do with the rest of you life, Miss Perkins.”

Emma thought hard, then turned to Schaffer after an encouraging nod from Paul. 

“I want to start a pot farm. Somewhere as far away from Hatchetfield as possible.” 

The colonel nodded and gave a small smile. 

“That can easily be arranged. Shall we go? We have several questions for you that we would like to get the answers to as soon as possible.”

Emma gave a small nod and was about to take a step forward when she caught a glimpse of ghostly blue glow out of the corner of her eye.

“Actually, can I meet you in the lobby? I have a few choice words for the meteor that I would rather remain private.”

The colonel nodded and signaled for her men to fall back as she led them through the lobby. 

“You have exactly one minuite, Miss Perkins. Make it count.”

Emma nodded and waited until they were all out of the room before turning to Paul, mouth open as she prepared to say something. But before a single word could fall out of her mouth, Paul stopped her with his own.

“You’re the best person I’ve ever met, Emma. Go live your life. I’ll be waiting to hear all about it.”

Emma could feel tears running down her face. There was so much she still wanted to say, so much she still wanted to do! And here he was, letting her go so she could live. 

God, she was going to miss him.

Looking down in an attempt to gather herself. Emma managed to choke out the words, 

“I love you, Paul. I love you so much.”

Paul smiled and placed a phantom kiss on her forehead. He smiled down at her. 

“I love you too, Emma. I always have. Now go, your life is waiting.”

Emma closed her eyes and nodded, moving towards the door. The sun was rising though the dusty theater windows, and Emma watched as Paul’s spirit finally faded away in the early morning light, waving slowly to her as he finally reached his peace.

Emma sniffed once and looked up.

“See you on the other side, Paul.”

And with that, Emma pushed open the doors to the Starlight and took her first step towards her new life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, that's it! I hope you enjoyed the story! Since I've gotten quite a few comments about how much people liked this story, I would love to hear from you! Please, please message me at my Tumblr, @untitled5071 and let me know if my story affected you in any way! I would probably absolutely die if anyone did fanart, but any form of hearing from you guys would be fantastic! And who knows, maybe you guys will inspire me to write some new one-shots or fics! Please. please comment and send me a little message to help me send this fic off with a bang! Thank you all for reading, I love you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Man poor Emma right
> 
> I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1! Chapter 2 should be up soon if enough people demand it. 
> 
> As always, please comment and let me know what you think! Have a great day!


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